The new EOS 5D Mark II firmware

So, the new firmware for the EOS 5D Mark II will be arriving on the 2nd of June so we're told. What does it mean, and is it really a big step forwards for most users? To decide that, we need to look at what it's actually doing and why those features were not in the camera from the start.

The EOS 5D Mark II was the first EOS model to feature movie recording and the first camera from anyone to feature full HD recording. The market for this camera is huge. Possibly bigger than had been anticipated. It's also a very immature market in that there are no established users who have fixed ideas about what they're doing with the camera. The problem has come because the camera is simply so good at movie recording. If it had been a bit weak or not very good quality, the professional video guys would not have been interested and the standard full auto video mode would have been perfectly good enough for the people who were going to make use of the feature - those that have little or no experience with video and just want it to work without too much fuss.

That's the only reason I can see why Canon would have chosen to not give full manual control. If you think about it, giving the full control to a complete beginner with no experience is quite likely to lead to a bad user experience - it'll be too complex and the results won't be as good and they then won't use the feature.

Instead what's happened is that the camera was limited and the pro video guys got hold of it and wanted more - more control to get better results because they know what they're doing. They know what shutter speed and aperture will do to the results and how to use them creatively. I can already see there will be problems with the new firmware - beginner users will be confused and will end up shooting at (for example) faster shutter speeds than they need because they think they have to and it's what they're used to doing with still images of moving subjects. The reality is Canon could have simply given a few shutter speed choices - 1/30sec, 1/60sec, and then a break until the much higher speeds for specific results.

And what about sound? Ask any video guy and they'll tell you that sound is more important than pictures. The image can be great, but if the sound is rubbish, the whole thing will be poor. That's another reason for the simple video controls - it was a set and forget feature. You can start recording and let it get on with it without having to touch the camera and risk getting 'handling sounds' from the camera body. Granted the internal microphone is not great and for good sound you should be using an external unit, but for you complete beginners in video it does the job and allows you to get video with sound of little Johnny running around the park. Now you'll almost certainly have to buy an external microphone to get half decent sound because there will be more camera handling sounds going on as you adjust the aperture or ISO to get the right exposure. Suddenly the camera has gone from a product suitable for use by the masses to a one that is now capable of being used by everyone - amateur movie makers and pros alike but for almost everyone will require an external microphone.

So what am I complaining about? Well, it's this: If you've got full manual control and everyone is telling you it's a great thing, you'll be tempted to use it. If you don't know much about video, don't! By all means practice with it and find out how it works, but don't start shooting in manual movie mode and expect great results or you're setting yourself up for a fall.

For the pros reading this - you're happy you've got full manual control, but don't think it's all about you. In fact, you're not the biggest market for cameras. Think how many consumers buy cameras when compared to how many pros. And that's why Canon did what they did. They're probably over the moon you're so pleased with their camera that you want to use it to film this, that and the other, but it was a first step into an uncertain market. So before you start complaining about the other things you want - Manual Audio Control and varying frame rates, stop and think. For pro users they'd be great, but for consumers it's another layer of complexity they need understand to get good results.

NEWS: For those that read this far...well done! As we mentioned at the beginning of the week, we are moving. If you subscribe to the RSS feed, you can subscribe to the feed at the new location using this link.
If you just want the new website where you can find the blog to bookmark in your browser, that's here.

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EOS 5D Mark II firmware update coming

Canon have finally announced new firmware is coming for the EOS 5D Mark II.... and it will give manual control for people wanting to shoot video! Hallelujah!
The new firmware will give the ability to choose:
*Full aperture settings
*ISO speed range from 100-6400 as well as Auto setting and H1
*Shutter speed from 1/30sec to 1/4000sec

There is no mention of any changes to the Auto Gain Control settings on the announcement, so if it's not there, there will still be something for grumpy people to complain about on the web! Honestly.

Hopefully, this will put an end to people using those N!kon lenses for video!

The firmware update will be available from 2nd June 2009 from the usual Canon websites.

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Another award for the EOS 5D Mark II

NEWS: For those that saw the post yesterday, we are moving! The new location for the blog will be at www.eos-network.com
However, we don't want to lose all you guys in the transition, so for the next few weeks we'll keep putting our posts both here and on the new site so you can always find them!

For those who have bought an EOS 5D Mark II, awards a rather meaningless, but in someway a validation that you made a good choice. (You bought a Canon so clearly it was a good choice, but this time others agree with you!)

The most prestigious award in Japan is the Camera of the Year award in the Camera Grand Prix 2009. The Camera Grand Prix has been running since 1984 and the awards are voted on and decided by thirteen photo and camera publications with a deciding committee made up of academic experts, technical writers, professional photographers and others from the photo world.

The award for 2009 was given to the camera they thought was the best product released between April 1 2008 and March 31 2009. And they chose the EOS 5D Mark II.

Are you feeling vindicated in your purchase now?!

Well done Canon!

As an aside, how much do awards really sway you as the 'buying public' when you're choosing your next camera?

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EOS 5D Mark II and movie exposure

How many readers have the EOS 5D Mark II?
Of you, how many have tried the movie modes and have figured out the way to accurate exposure?

You essentially have two controls over exposure on the camera. Firstly, there is the AE Lock button. Just like in still shooting, the AE lock button will hold the exposure at whatever value is currently set when you press the button. The one thing to remember is that you don't need to keep the button pressed. Just press it once and leave it alone. The exposure then won't change unless you press the button again... or use the second exposure control: The quick command dial.

The quick command dial acts like exposure compensation in still shooting. Essentially it makes the scene brighter or darker and that is about as much information as it gives you.

Clearly there are a couple of different ways of getting the right exposure then - you can either point at a dark area, let the camera open up the exposure, use AE lock and then use the command dial to make it darker again, or you can start pointing at a light area, use AE lock and then open up the exposure. Both will work, but it is worth experimenting as you only have +/- 2stops of compensation available so you need to make sure it's within the range of adjustment.

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EOS 5D Mark II Video

Well, it's been a long time since we've shown you any links to videos shot on the EOS 5D Mark II, so here's one for you to get your teeth into. Since the launch of the camera, there have been many videos that show what the camera is capable of but it's only until now that we're starting to see a maturing of the output that photographers are producing. You know, output that is using the camera to it's full potential. Well, this video is one of the best examples we've seen to date. Not only is it well shot, but it's well shot in a situation that cannot be easy (a war zone) of a subject that is difficult to convey.

So, as Tuesday is our traditional day for showcasing work by photographers we thought we'd bring you this real gem to show what can be done with an EOS 5D Mark II and the desire to tell a story. Click the following link to view the video on Vimeo...

Afghan Hearts and Minds by Danfung Dennis

Give us your thoughts and let us know if you've seen any videos you think are worth sharing.

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Please stop the ****in beeping!

Having been to a church wedding this weekend I have a top tip. For all of the photographers who are 'doing a bit of wedding work' to help make ends meet, a church marriage service is not the place for a beeping camera.

All the EOS cameras come from the factory with the beeps enabled as a default, to turn the beep off you need to go to the first menu tab and find the selection for BEEP and turn it off. Alternatively if you use back button focus then keep the camera in AI Servo AF and it won't beep either.

Maybe I'm just tuned to it, but the beeps of the wedding togs camera sure distracted me enough to notice he'd got a new EOS 5D Mark II and some EOS 5D cameras and only the new EOS 5D Mark II was beeping.

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How many awards is enough?

Well, it seems if you're Canon, then there's no such thing as too many awards. Here at blab, we love Canon products, and we know that you guys and girls do, so it's nice to see the industry agrees with us - if only because it means a lot of people that know what they're talking about think you made the right purchasing decision as well! So, with 5 awards in the bag, Canon are rightly feeling rather happy about it - enough that they felt it good to put out a press release!

It seems the EOS 5D Mark II picked up best D-SLR Expert, the PowerShot G10 got best Expert Compact, the TS-E17mm f/4L got best Professional lens, the new PIXMA Pro 9500 II got best Expert photo printer and the Legeria HF S10 got best Expert HD camcorder. Well done Canon!

Press release:
United Kingdom / Republic of Ireland, 20 April 2009: Canon today announced that it has won five awards from the prestigious Technical Image Press Association (TIPA) – Europe’s leading photo and imaging press association.

The TIPA voting panel, which meets annually to select the best photo and imaging products of the year, selected the Canon EOS 5D Mark II as “Best D-SLR Expert in 2009”, the Canon PowerShot G10 as the “Best Expert Compact in 2009” and the “Best Professional Lens in 2009” award went to the Canon TS-E 17mm f/4L. Additionally, the Canon PIXMA Pro9500 Mark II won “Best Expert Photo Printer in 2009” and the Canon LEGRIA HF S10 took the “Best Expert HD Camcorder in 2009” prize.

“Winning 5 TIPA awards, as well as exceeding last year’s success, is an outstanding achievement for Canon and confirms our leadership in the imaging market,” said Rainer Fuehres, Head of Canon Consumer Imaging, Canon Europe. “To be presented with these awards, from an independent body as prestigious as TIPA, is an important accolade and recognises our commitment to and passion for the power of image.”

Best D-SLR Expert in 2009: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon’s full frame, 21.1 megapixel EOS 5D Mark II is the first EOS with full High Definition video capability that captures amazing quality footage. TIPA’s panel of judges summarised the camera as: “Fast, reliable and discreet, this ‘expert’ D-SLR challenges in quality the best pro models.” Although compact and lightweight, the EOS 5D Mark II’s newly designed and improved Canon full frame CMOS sensor, along with the DIGIC 4 processor, delivers image quality at 3.9 frames per second.

Best Expert Compact in 2009: Canon PowerShot G10
The PowerShot G10 is Canon’s flagship PowerShot compact digital camera and the first G-series camera to offer wide-angle imaging via a 5x (28mm) zoom with optical Image Stabilizer. TIPA’s panel of judges commented that the PowerShot G10 “… is very well built, and its grip ensures good stability.”

The PowerShot G10 is perfect for shooting sharp, blur-free shots of landscapes, architecture or interiors. It includes a 14.7 Megapixel sensor and Canon’s DIGIC 4 image processor ensures exacting image quality.

Best Professional Lens in 2009: Canon TS-E 17mm f/4L
The tilt and shift Ultra-Wide angle TS-E 17mm f/4L has the widest view angle of any tilt and shift lens on the market and the TIPA judges were impressed with its outstanding image quality: “The Canon TS-E 17mm f/4L is the professional choice for architectural or landscape photography.”

Best Expert Photo Printer in 2009: Canon PIXMA Pro9500 Mark II
The TIPA panel were impressed with the PIXMA Pro9500 Mark II, as it enables gallery-quality imaging: “(it) uses a 10-colour pigment based single ink system, including matte black and photo black. This allows photographers to print on gloss and matte media with exceptional colour accuracy and gamut, without the need for swapping ink tanks.” The addition of 16-bits per channel print capability offers exceptionally smooth tonal gradations in both colour and monochrome photo prints of up to A3+ or 14” wide.

Best Expert HD Camcorder in 2009: Canon LEGRIA HF S10
Suited to high-end consumers, the next generation High Definition (HD)flash memory camcorder features an extensive set of professional-level controls and features which proved a hit with the TIPA judges: “The LEGRIA HF S10 uses a combination of 8.0MP Full HD CMOS sensor, Canon HD Video Lens with 10x optical zoom, and the DIGIC DV III processor, to produce video of exceptional quality.”

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Movies and IS - the examples

Well on Saturday, I promised you some example videos showing what IS does when you're using long telephoto lenses with the camera mounted on a tripod. Something I didn't say on Saturday was that this doesn't only appear in movies - if you're using Live View to compose or focus, you'll also see the image moving slightly. However, the benefits of IS if you're shooting stills are great enough to mean we'd suggest leaving IS on - The ability to manual focus with a more steady viewfinder being one of the main reasons.

So, on with the movies. What you'll notice is that in the first 10seconds, the image seems to move around and you can hear the IS motor spinning. In the second clip (after the cut) is that the image is stable and there is no IS sound.


EOS 5D Mark II Movie with IS on long telephoto lenses from Blab pictures on Vimeo.

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Filming, tripods, long lenses and IS

We're all aware that IS is a wonderful invention whether you're shooting stills or video. However, there is one caveat to that - when using a tripod.
Most of the recent IS lenses don't require you to turn off the IS when you mount the camera on the tripod, however in our experience, if you're pretty certain the setup is stable, then turn it off otherwise you'll end up with slightly blurry images as the shutter speed drops.
For filming, you don't end up with blurry images. From our experience, we've seen that with longer lenses when filming from a tripod, you don't so much get blurry images, as motion in the images - in other words the image seems to drift back and forth as the IS spins but there is nothing to correct. Essentially the IS elements that move to counteract are creating a movement that isn't there. To avoid this, simply turn the IS off when you put a big lens on a tripod and plan to do some filming.
Look out for a post early next week where I'll put up two video clips, one with IS on and one with IS off to show the effect...

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EOS 5D Mark II batteries why are they so scarce?

We like the new EOS 5D Mark II a lot, it does many great things and one nice thing is that the batteries seem to last a long time. Which is really helpful as they are a bit scarce to get in the market right now. We asked the manufacturer for a comment on the battery supply situation and they checked and said that the batteries use a new battery technology and although it says Lithium Ion on the pack actually they use a unique combination of RARE-ium and UNOBTAINium dioxide to provide power for the EOS 5D Mark II.

Rare-ium is the worlds least available metal, and can only be found in remote corners of Japanese hot springs. It also rumoured to be an essential component of missing socks.

Unobtainium dioxide is a similarly difficult gas that can only be created in conditions of absolute zero kelvin and a perfect vacuum.

However the combination provides amazing power for the EOS 5D Mark II. Canon previously experimented and even showed a working camera with a fuel cell battery in 2005. However once the designers realised that recharging the battery required photographers to throw cameras in the sea to recharge them the products never came to production.

Some photo dealers also told us that the BG-E6 battery grip and WFT-E4 wireless file transmitter are also thought to contain small traces of RARE-ium too!

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How good is the EOS 5D Mark II at video?

Well, we've seen some videos, everyone is raving about it, but just how good is it in real terms? It certainly looks the business and the films that have been produced have been very impressive, but what if there was a way to get a real handle on it? Wouldn't that be good?

Well, how about this? James Velacott, a well known photographer for the Daily Mirror, has been accused of ripping off BBC footage of the recent U2 concert on the roof of the BBC. Suffice to say the material is not ripped off, it was shot by James with an EOS 5D Mark II and now the Mirror's lawyers have pointed this out, the BBC seem to have gone quiet about it. 

James' blog at the Mirror has the full details...

So, what do you reckon? Who has one and how good do you really think it is?

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Printers - Pro 9500 II and Pro 9000 II

Canon USA have announced 2 new pro level PIXMA printers to replace the current top of the pile Pro 9000 and Pro 9500. It seems that Hong Kong announced them a little while ago, the USA chose PMA (which is happening at the moment) but there is no sign from Europe yet that there are new products so we'll have to wait and see when they get over here and what prices they'll be. 

The new printers looks very similar to the old models so the changes are obviously confined to inside. Then again, from the USA press release (shown below) it appears they are using the same inks as well. It seems that the main advances will be speed, with the Pro 9000 Mark II claimed to be 3x faster than the older Pro 9000 and the Pro 9500 Mark II claimed to be about 1.5x faster than the Pro 9500.

Of marginally less interest, there is also a new flatbed scanner that uses an LED light source to scan images. It is claimed to be able to scan a single 35mm transparency at an optical resolution of 9600dpi, which should be more than enough to extract as much details as you'd need from a transparency. 

Hit the comments with your thoughts if you have one of the older models and whether these new models would persuade you to upgrade? Do you find the older ones slower? Is faster something you'd put at the top of your list of requirements? 

Canon USA press release follows:

 CANON U.S.A. INTRODUCES THE NEW PIXMA PRO9000 MARK II AND PIXMA PRO9500 MARK II PROFESSIONAL PHOTO PRINTERS

New Canon LiDE700F Color Image Scanner Easily Digitally Renders Large Photos and Documents Using an LED Light Source, for Low Power Consumption

LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y., March 2, 2009 – Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging, today introduced two new printers for professional and advanced photographers, the ten-color PIXMA Pro9500 Mark II and the eight-color PIXMA Pro9000 Mark II Photo Printers. The PIXMA Pro9500 Mark II printer takes advantage of Canon's professional Lucia brand pigment-based inks for long-lasting, professional-quality prints. The PIXMA Pro9000 Mark II printer uses the Company's dye-based inks to produce brilliant, gallery-quality prints up to 13 x 19 inches on a variety of fine art papers and glossy media. Canon will debut the PIXMA Pro9500 Mark II and PIXMA Pro9000 Mark II photo printers and the LiDE700F Color Image Scanner in its booth (#F131) during the Photo Marketing Association (PMA) exhibit in the Las Vegas Convention Center, South Hall from March 3-5, 2009.

"Canon is known within the professional photographer community for providing the right output tools to manage their photographic creations and the PIXMA Pro9500 Mark II Photo Printer continues to deliver on that tradition with its superior quality and archiveability," said Yuichi Ishizuka, senior vice president and general manager, Consumer Imaging Group, Canon U.S.A. "Additionally, with the growing number of enthusiasts capturing professional-quality photographs with digital SLR cameras, it is only natural to want to maintain creative control over their photos by printing the images themselves on products like the new Canon PIXMA Pro9000 Mark II Photo Printer. These professional and emerging photographers understand and appreciate the creative control that Canon provides over image quality from capture to output."

PIXMA Pro9500 Mark II Photo Printer
The new PIXMA Pro9500 Mark II Photo Printer features ten pigment-based ink colors - photo black, matte black and gray as well as cyan, magenta, yellow, photo cyan, photo magenta, red and green, allowing users the benefit of a wide color gamut for stunning color prints, as well as three levels of black for true black-and-white photographs. Designed for the pro and "pro-sumer" photographers, the PIXMA Pro9500 Mark II provides outstanding resolution and droplet control utilizing Canon's double-encoder system to produce high-quality portfolio pieces or gallery-quality prints for the marketplace. The Pro9500 Mark II delivers rich detail, texture and tone plus extraordinary color reproduction in the green, red, yellow and orange color ranges resulting in breathtaking photo-art. Employing the Canon Full-photolithography Inkjet Nozzle Engineering (FINE) technology along with a sophisticated 7,680 nozzle print-head structure, the Mark II model provides significantly faster production times, delivering approximately one-and-a-half times faster color print speeds on a 13" x 19" bordered print1,2 than the previous model.

The printer's matte black, photo black and gray inks reduce metamerism and provide high-density blacks and truly neutral monochrome prints. Metamerism is an effect in some printed "black-and-white" images where composite gray inks (achieved with combinations of cyan, magenta and yellow ink) make image areas appear a different color hue under different lighting conditions (such as sunlight, fluorescent light and incandescent light). This aberration is due to the differences in spectral reflectance properties of each of the composite colors.

The Canon PIXMA Pro9500 Mark II Photo Printer is scheduled to be available in May for an estimated selling price of $849.993.

PIXMA Pro9000 Mark II Photo Printer
The eight-color PIXMA Pro9000 Mark II Photo Printer – cyan, magenta, yellow, photo cyan, photo magenta, photo black, red, and green – delivers an even glossiness and vivid color experience rivaling that of positive film for photographers. The Pro9000 Mark II's impressive quality and speed are the result of the Canon FINE print head technology coupled with the Company's high-performance, high-density 6,144-nozzle print head which is capable of producing nearly invisible ink droplets of two-picoliters. Thanks in part to an enhanced double encoder system for media control, the PIXMA Pro9000 Mark II achieves three times faster print speeds over its predecessor, producing a bordered 13" x 19" size black and white photographic print in approximately 1 minute, 23 seconds2.

The Canon PIXMA Pro9000 Mark II Photo Printer is scheduled to be available in May for an estimated selling price of $499.993.

Software
A new Easy-PhotoPrint Pro feature incorporated into the PIXMA Pro models is Canon's Ambient Light Correction technology which helps reduce the perceived color difference caused by different light conditions between printing and viewing or display environments. Compatible with Windows Vista OS, Ambient Light Correction allows users to optimize print color for the lighting conditions where the final print will be shown. Through the software, users can adjust color to various levels of lighting conditions from daylight at 6500K to a warm white fluorescent lamp at 3000K for optimal viewing.

Both the PIXMA Pro9500 Mark II and the PIXMA Pro9000 Mark II Photo Printers come bundled with Canon's proprietary Easy-PhotoPrint Pro software and now with Adobe PhotoShop Elements, an user-friendly photo-editing software tool. Easy-PhotoPrint Pro, which is a software plug-in designed for Adobe applications such as PhotoShop CS, CS2, CS3, or PhotoShop Elements 6 along with Canon Digital Photo Pro (DPP) software, permits one-click image transfer, simple setting controls for color management and allows users to configure printer settings once for images on multiple sheets. A helpful feature, Easy-PhotoPrint Pro facilitates the printing of RAW image files (as a high quality TIFF or JPEG) without having to save directly from applications, like DPP.

Canon LiDE700F Color Image Scanner
The new Canon LiDE700F Color Image Scanner provides consumers with a high-speed scanning solution capable of capturing a letter-sized image – roughly the size of a large wedding photo or school portrait – at 300 dots-per-inch (dpi) in approximately 12 seconds. The scanner can capture one frame of a 35mm filmstrip at a maximum optical resolution of 9600dpi to help digitally archive customer's older photographic film. Powered and connected via a single USB cord, the LiDE700F, includes a LED light source for low power consumption. Canon helps make scanning easier with Auto-Scan Mode, a one-touch solution where the scanner will automatically detect the type of document or image being scanned and adjust the setting accordingly. The scanner's four easy buttons offer simple, single-touch operation for copying, scanning, and creating e-mail attachment/multi-page PDF files. The LiDE700F scanner is expected to ship to retailers in April at an estimated retail price of $129.993.

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5D II Movies

For some, this may seem obvious. For others, it'll be a confusion then a hassle if they get it wrong. Which group do you fit in?

When you're shooting movies and stills with the EOS 5D Mark II, there is something you really need to remember. It's obvious once you've been told, but easily forgotten in the heat of the moment. 

So there you are at a wedding. You're shooting a lovely portrait shot of the bride walking down the aisle. Mmmm you think, a bit of movie would be nice for the DVD. You enter Live View mode. You start shooting movie. You grab the odd still image as well. All's going great. 

You get home and download the images and movies. You start sorting out the movie clips and...... bugger ........ yep, you shot the movies in portrait mode and now you need to turn your screen on it's side .... or bin the file. 

Yep, that's it folks, if you're shooting movies remember that turning an HDTV on it's edge is really not conducive to the health of your back or your tv so make sure you only shoot in a landscape format or you'll be throwing away footage left, right and centre. 

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Depth of field in movies

One of the best things about the EOS 5D Mark II movie function is that it shoots on the full-frame sensor and therefore you get really shallow depth of field. Great.....except when you want lots in focus.
As far as I can tell, photography is all about problem solving and so it was the other day. I was trying to take a short movie clip of myself (yes, I am that vain) and needed to make sure I was in focus. I had a couple of attempts and it wasn't working out as the depth of field was just too shallow - any time I moved, I moved out of the plane of focus and it was ruined. So how to get around it?
With no control over aperture, there is not much you can do, but one thing will help - your knowledge of depth of field in relation to focus distance.
Initially I was using a EF35mm f/1.4L USM lens and DofF was very shallow. I switched lenses to the EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM and moved the camera and tripod further back. This had two effects:
1. The lens only has an f/4 maximum aperture so instantly more depth of field as the lens couldn't open as wide
2. By increasing my camera to subject distance, I increased the depth of field

Bingo! Enough depth of field for me to move around while staying in the plane of focus.

It's that second one that people forget. While everyone is busy using aperture to control depth of field, they forget that actually the most over-riding function of depth of field is the focus distance, or camera to subject distance.
Get further away from your subject and wham! more depth of field. Conversely, if you want less depth of field, get closer in to your subject and suddenly you're in blur city.

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Highlight Tone Priority - ISO range limits

Have you tried Highlight Tone Priority? You know the one, the setting that shifts your dynamic range from the shadows to the highlights giving smoother tonal gradation in the highlight areas. While it's very useful in some situations - anywhere with lots of highlights and not much shadow - it can cause issues when you get to shadow areas as that dynamic range has to come from somewhere - the shadow tones. this could cause more noise in the shadow areas, so use it sparingly. 

Anyway, this post is not about that per se, but about the limitations it puts on your ISO range. We'll show you some examples of images with and without HTP in a future post. 

This list shows you the standard ISO range (with expansion turned on) of the camera and the ISO range once Highlight Tone Priority is turned on. 

EOS-1D Mark III - STD: 50-6400, HTP:ON 200-3200

EOS-1Ds Mark III - STD: 50-3200, HTP:ON 200-1600

EOS 5D Mark II - STD: 50-25,600, HTP:ON 200-6400

EOS 50D - STD: 100-12,600, HTP:ON 200-3200

EOS 40D - STD: 100-3200, HTP:ON 200-1600

EOS 450D - STD: 100-1600, HTP:ON 200-1600

For a quick way to check if you have HTP switched on or not, looked at the information screen - either the top LCD panel for those cameras that have one, or the rear LCD for the EOS 450D. 

On the EOS-1D/1Ds Mark III, EOS 40D and EOS 450D, the ISO speed when HTP is turned on, will show with small zeros eg: 2oo rather than 200. For the EOS 5D Mark II and EOS 50D, this has been changed so that it now shows D+ on the top LCD panel. 

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Daylight video?

It seems that for quite a while now we've been seeing lots of movies shot with the EOS 5D Mark II in low light. Certainly the low light helps keep the depth of field shallow, but we were beginning to wonder if it had only been bought by vampires who couldn't take it out during the day. It seems our fears were, rather unsurprisingly, unfounded. 

I just came across this video on SugMug and had to share it. It is not only shot in daylight, but is also one of the best edited videos I've seen from the EOS 5D Mark II yet. Not only that, the music is great and it's very well filmed too. It was made by Bob Davis, a photojournalist in the USA. 

Hit the comments with your thoughts and also feel free to pass on any links to videos you've seen shot on the EOS 5D Mark II.

In other news on videos and the EOS 5D Mark II, check out this website: TheEOScars.com if that's not an inspired name for a website and a cunning play on words, then I don't know what is! It is essentially a location for all the better videos shot on the EOS 5D Mark II where viewers can rate them. If you're looking for decent videos to convince you to buy one of these cameras, this site will save you having to sit through pages of youtube clips where people have posted their '5D test of my dog eating dinner' or similar....


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Never before

There aren't many pictures that can claim to be a world first. Obviously every image is unique, and in metaphysical terms, completely unrepeatable. But when it comes to US presidential inaugurations then most of the photos are the same each time, only the president changes.

With these days of press positions and fenced off media enclosures there is not much option for a different picture of a familiar ceremony. Two photographers in the USA Chuck Kennedy from the McClatchy-Tribune Photo Service, and David Bergman produced images from the inauguration ceremony of President Obama that show lateral thinking and the diversity of what digital photography can bring to age old traditions.
Mega panoramic picture
First up David Bergman's incredible 1.5 gigapixel image taken with his PowerShot G10. Yes gigapixel...! Using a G10 and a Gigapan imager - a robotic camera mount - David shot 220 pictures to make a hugely detailed panoramic shot that is 59,783 x 24,658 pixels! David wrote that it took more than six and a half hours to make the composite image on his MacBook Pro and the resulting file is almost 2 gigabytes.
That'll be the image you don't open in Photoshop and press CTRL/OPTION J to dupe the background layer and double the file size!

Closest ever camera at an inauguration
Then using more "regular" technology Chuck Kennedy got his camera in a position on the podium where no camera had ever been before, right on the podium for the closest camera to an inauguration ever. He used a WiFi transmitter connected via ethernet to get the image from the EOS 5D Mark II camera and triggered the shutter with a hard wired release. Seems like President Obama is a good subject for the EOS 5D Mark II. You need to scroll down the NPPA page to see the camera in it's adapted peli case.


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Hold still, it's an EOS 5D Mark II movie tip

There's been several movies on this site that have been shot with the fantastic EOS 5D Mark II. One of the key points many movie makers stress is the need to hold the camera still. In fact many of the movie makers have resorted to the old film makers trick - put the camera on a tripod.

What if you don't like tripods, or have no possibility to use one in your shoots? Picked up from the experts one alternative to getting steady shots and pans involves no more equipment than Canon put in the camera box.

Put the camera neck strap on the camera in the usual way then adjust it - usually shorten - so that with the camera held in your out stretched hands you pull the strap tight around the back of your neck. Now you have braced the camera against you and pretty much locked it's position. A bit of a twist of your whole body from the waist and you can even do reasonable pans too. 

This is a top tip dispensed by Canon Ambassador Jeff Ascough in a seminar at the SWPP show that's been in London this weekend. 

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EOS 5D Mark II - music video

It seems hardly a day goes by without another EOS 5D Mark II movie being uploaded. This one, a pop video is the creation of Birmingham, UK, based Paul Ward, who lists himself as photographer / artist / designer.

"Tell me you want me" by Forte - HD version from Paul Ward on Vimeo.

You may think that models playing pool in lingerie is the stuff of pop videos, and you may not like the song, but this video shows how classic movie making techniques with an absence of zooming during each clip looks so stylish. To get the best from the movie feature set of the EOS 5D Mark II takes rather more than just a good photographer. Video making is more like a team sport such as football, as opposed to the one man sports such as javelin throwing.

Paul used the somewhat ordinary EF 17-40mm f/4L and the 24-70mm f/2.8L zoom lenses to make this movie, proving that maybe you don't need the entire collection of Canon fast primes to make EOS 5D Mark II movies. Paul has shot other pop videos so the genre is not new to him, maybe he needs to add videographer to his description?

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Editing EOS 5D Mark II videos - the simple way

So, there's been lots of talk about the EOS 5D Mark II and the video capability. But no-one is really talking about editing what they shoot. So here's the simple take on it. We'll deal with some of the more complex methods in future posts.

Upfront - an apology as this is a Mac based 'tutorial'. (I'm not sure about calling this a tutorial as it's so simple and quick, it feels a bit of a cheat!)

Anyway, I digress.
Start by copying the images and movies from the memory card on to the computer. You can do this anyway you want, but I'd suggest a card reader. It's quicker (and that's enough for me) but it also doesn't use battery power and doesn't cause any driver issues.

With the files on the computer, import them to iPhoto. You can either put all the photos and videos in there or you can just put the videos in there. I create an album just for putting the videos in, but you may have other thoughts on this.

With the files imported into iPhoto, the wonders of Mac make them available in the media browser in all the other 'i' apps. In this case, you want iMovie.

Open iMovie, navigate to the media tab and look for photos in your iPhoto library. Find the album you put the movies in and viola, they're ready to be used in your new movie file.

Simply drag each clip you want to the timeline and arrange, trim, transition etc as needed. Getting clips into a computer and using them really is that simple!

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