EOS 5D MkII video capability

[samhs]

I don't think this has been posted here yet. Check it out:

http://blog.vincentlaforet.com/2008/09/22/without-further-ado-reverie/

pretty impressive; makes me want to throw away my HD camcorder and 30D and buy a 5D

[MattC]

wow

[Mike@TheWhippinpost]

Quicktime, grrr!

[sickpuppy]

Quicktime, grrr!

http://www.free-codecs.com/download/quicktime_alternative.htm

[Tony]

Saw that last week, waiting for the camera to hit the shops and the price to come down a bit before I splurge out for one.

Looks good though eh?

[Britman]

I was ready to dismiss the video function as a bit of a gimmick. But I'm very surprised, it's quit remarkable quality.

[slaughteredlamb]

Clucking Bell!

Okay yes it is professionally lit which your average Joe simply isn't going to be able to recreate but even so the quality is astounding!!

Sadly there is no way I could ever justify the cost of that camera (unless I win Euro Millions tonight  ) and to be honest I've never really wanted to go full frame for still photography but I have to say that on seeing this I WANT ONE 

[Mr Anderson]

and the price to come down a bit before I splurge out for one.

This might interest you?

[Tony]

and the price to come down a bit before I splurge out for one.

This might interest you?

I want it for less than that without trading my 5D - US price will do me nicely, around £1,450 at todays exchange rate. Just got to wait till the ebay dealers get their hands on them.

We don't half get ripped off in this country!

[Mr Anderson]

We don't half get ripped off in this country!

Definitely. At £1,450 I'd begin to be getting impressed myself.

I can't see it taking long to drop over here, there's too much competition priced much lower than £2,300 for it to stay around that, and there's a lot of people who aren't interested in the video and so won't want to pay a premium for it.

[Orchid]

I've got a 5D MK1 and love it - but hearing about this thing made me sit bolt upright.  I think it's fantastic.

Wonder why it's a 5D MK2 rather than a 6D? (as it's a very different beast to the original)

I couldn't justify the upgrade for just taking still photography ... but if I were interested in making the move to video, this could be a killer.   

With regard to the price - it may carry a hefty pricetag ... but think how much an HD camcorder body that supported interchangable lenses is going to be (as opposed to an HD consumer device with fixed lense) - and then factor in the additional cost of having to buy separate lenses for the camcorder?    With this, you need only buy lenses for your one multipurpose device.

Will be interesting to see what the professional reviews make of it all.

[Mr Anderson]

With regard to the price - it may carry a hefty pricetag ... but think how much an HD camcorder body

That's a large part of what I don't like. I have no interest in making videos, which probably explains why I've never owned a camcorder. Despite how good it might be I view the video capability as a bit of a gimmick that'll have early interest and then be mostly ignored. For me if I have an slr in my hands and something interesting in front of me my motivation is to press the shutter and take a still photo, not video it.

But I am very interested in moving to full frame at some point in the near future. Which means that I now have to either pay a premium for a component that I have no interest in, or switch sides (by the time I do go full frame there'll be no new 5D mk 1s left).

I'm not going to switch sides as it costs too much to have to replace a whole system and not just a body. So when the time comes to go full frame it'll likely be with a mk II - I can live with the massive resolution, and cope with it not having as well developed an autofocus system as other bodies in its price bracket, but hopefully the price will have dropped to a point that reflects the quality of the body as an slr and not an slr/camcorder.

[Britman]

Thing is if you did decide to switch sides the other manufacturers with full frame cameras will have brought out new models with HD video options.

Had a discussion on another forum about the new type of camera, how long before the togs at events are shooting HD video and then lifting stills from these videos. They will have footage for print as well as web and all from one device.

But I'm with you, I have no interest in video.

[Mr Anderson]

Thing is if you did decide to switch sides the other manufacturers with full frame cameras will have brought out new models with HD video options.

Some already have to an extent. The D90 has video, just not HD, but its price is set closer to its value as an slr camera rather than an slr/camcorder though (although still a little high in comparison to the 40D).

Had a discussion on another forum about the new type of camera, how long before the togs at events are shooting HD video and then lifting stills from these videos. They will have footage for print as well as web and all from one device.

I can see that being feasible if they upped the resolution of the video component. But I'm not sure how feasible that is in terms of video resolution standards. Either way, I've no problem with them putting video in as I don't have to use it. I just don't like the idea of having to subsidise the development costs for something I've no interest in using.

[Mr Anderson]

I have to say, I do love the image quality though: http://www.bebbblog.com/index.php?link=94&cat=7 ISO 6,400 is amazing, and 25,600 is as good as 3,200 on my 40D.

[Orchid]

The ISO potential is neat though.

The other feature which I thought was really quite interesting, was the ability to zoom in on the liveview screen.    i.e.  this could be fab for checking that a point within the overall frame, that you are intending to focus on, is sharply in focus before/as you take the shot.   

[Mr Anderson]

The other feature which I thought was really quite interesting, was the ability to zoom in on the liveview screen.    i.e.  this could be fab for checking that a point within the overall frame, that you are intending to focus on, is sharply in focus before/as you take the shot.   

You can do that with the lower end cameras too (40D, 450D & 1000D), and it's something they're making a standard feature of across the board. Although with the much higher resolution of the 5DII's display you'd get a better indication of relative sharpness over what the lower end cameras provide.

[Tony]

The other feature which I thought was really quite interesting, was the ability to zoom in on the liveview screen.    i.e.  this could be fab for checking that a point within the overall frame, that you are intending to focus on, is sharply in focus before/as you take the shot.   

You can do that with the lower end cameras too (40D, 450D & 1000D), and it's something they're making a standard feature of across the board. Although with the much higher resolution of the 5DII's display you'd get a better indication of relative sharpness over what the lower end cameras provide.

You're on the change you are!

[Mr Anderson]

You're on the change you are!

 

Nah. I think the video's daft, the resolution's a bit over the top and the autofocus hasn't been nearly as improved as it should have been after 3 years of development (in fact they've done very little to it). I'm very impressed with the IQ and ISO performance though, but if they didn't get a hit with that they'd have had a lot of loyal 5D users very unhappy and unwilling to upgrade.