Canon 5D Mark II Update

So this may be old news to most of you, but I thought I'd post it anyways. I'm sure we've all seen how amazing the Mark II looks when shooting video, and have heard/experienced (I haven't experienced, but I know some of you have) that the Mark II lacks some essential manual user controls when shooting video. Luckily, some hard working developers are putting together a new "open platform" firmware update that moves the Mark II ever closer to being a truly unstoppable cinematography tool.

The platform is known as Magic Lantern (Link) and is dedicated solely to improving the Canon 5D Mark II. Their first effort attempts to make right specific wrongs such as: Adding on screen Audio Meters, Disabling Auto Gain Control (which in turn enables Manual Gain Control), the addition of Zebra stripes display, and crop marks for widescreen, anamorphic, and standard 4:3.

These initial enhancements are what appears to be only the first phase of a quite ambitious ToDo List, which includes features like; variable frame rates, 720p recording, better metadata recording, and the ability to manually select Aperture and Shutter settings while the camera auto adjusts the ISO for proper exposure.

The bad news: The firmware isn't available for mass distribution yet, and there seems to be no sign of when it will be ready. Regardless, the Canon 5D Mark II has the potential to be quite a revolutionary camera, assuming communities like Magic Lantern continue to push the technology further and further.

5 minutes with the new Canon 5D Mark II

5D for Dinner. Another boring 5D video test. from Tony Cece on Vimeo.

I just got my Canon 5D Mark II in the mail yesterday and quickly unboxed it to grab some footage as my wife and I prepared dinner. I briefly scanned through the manual and figured out how to record video and quickly started filming. With my limited knowledge about the features or best settings, I was surprised at how good the footage looked when I got it on my computer. I left the White Balance on Auto which didn't do a super job. The video is untouched except to compress for the web.

With little to no effort, people will be shooting amazing video on these things. I've already seen should mounts that have matte boxes and follow focus knobs/mechanisms. There are a lot of benefits for low budget film makers: great low light capabilities, low cost, availability of fast yet fairly inexpensive lenses, low rental prices. One drawback is the ability to follow focus. While you can use an external monitor through the HDMI port, the 1080i feed goes to 480p when actually recording. I found that it still helps, but when focus is critical you may have to do multiple takes. Audio isn't great, but that can be overcome by using a portable audio recorder to capture sound.

I still haven't spent a lot of time with it, but can tell that it will suit my current video needs. If you get a chance, find someone that has one and try it out.

****UPDATE****
After spending more time with the video mode on the 5D, I take back most of my comments above. You basically have no control over the ISO, Aperture, or Shutter Speed when shooting video. There are a few tricks to try to get what you want, but it is far from precise...and you lose the settings once you stop recording and have to try to get the same settings again. While you can get some amazing video on the camera, it will not meet most needs without other adapters and lenses that have aperture control built in. This still doesn't guarantee that you will get the shutter speed you desire. Until Canon releases a firmware update or a new model, this camera may or may not give you the shot that you hope to capture.

However, it is still great for people that need to grab a quick video and happen to have this camera. Photojournalists would fall into this category. When you need precision, stick to dedicated video cameras.

Here's more good reading about the video mode on the camera.  READ

While the video mode isn't perfect, the camera takes superb still photos.  The quality at high ISO 3200 & 6400 is astoundingly good.  For the first time, I am comfortable putting the ISO on Auto and setting the Aperture and Shutter I desire.