Using a DSLR for jump video

[I3uller 0]

I'm assuming people have tried shooting video with a 7D or 5D MkII in the past but was wondering if anyone got any decent results with it. Stories, opinions, suggestions would be great. Thanks in advance.

[4dbill 0]

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I'm assuming people have tried shooting video with a 7D or 5D MkII in the past but was wondering if anyone got any decent results with it. Stories, opinions, suggestions would be great. Thanks in advance.

I have mentioned a few times how DSLR videos measure up and documented my personal experience with Canon T2i at,
http://dslrforvideo.com
For video, it's not much different than 7D. At least that's what I read, but I would love to try either 7D or 5D Mark II.
DSLR video is not for everyone since everything has to be set in the manual mode. The results, in my humble opinion, is well worth it, for creative and artistic projects, since it mimics film in certain conditions.

4DBill
http://4dbill.com
http://dslrforvideo.com

[I3uller 0]

I took a look at some of your youtube stuff and I'd really like to have a chat with you if possible. If you have an email or something I could get I'd appreciate some of your time. Your work is amazing btw.

[4dbill 0]

Thanks for the compliment. Ever since Canon put in the HD video feature in their SDLR, simply as an afterthought, it has been embraced by low budget film makers.
Despite the limitatin, it has been used to create some incredible films, TV shows, musical videos.
My footage is nothing special, just yet. :)
I just wanted to see how it could be applied to a skydiving environment, using basic techniques and adding a few experiments here and there.
I am pretty sure more skydivers will be jumping 'em in the future. It has that certain look that's hard to duplicate with regular camcorders.

4DBill
http://dslrforvideo.com
http://4dbill.com

[guscabana 0]

I been following the trend of using dslr's for serious video work, and there's a cameraman who I think was the first to shoot an skydiving record with only 2 photo cams. Was during the brazilian record 82 way, last april in AZ and the photographer is Rick Neves, an artist and a great guy. He mounts one on top and one on the front, uses manual mode and has a demo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4tIuMH8UzM

Dual cams making cinematography affordable, like Bruno says: now is only the talent what's matter...like in his "Fun Jumper" video, also with the Mark 2, and an HC5 for the aerial parts:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLcN7nsWwwU

Or the Babylon guys shooting the freefall scenes of a big action motion picture: "Largo Winch 2", with... what else?: a mark 2 (and also a 7d), and instead of using one camera flyer with a huge 35 mm cam they just use 3 with dslr's...

Another great example is a freediving/base video which blows my mind, shoot with the 5d in only 4 dives:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQITWbAaDx0

Some time ago I saw "El secreto de sus ojos" an argentinian movie winner of an Oscar ("The Secret in Their Eyes" Best Foreign Language Film of the Year 2010), very nice, and in the "making of" I found out they used Red cams...which allow them to run and jump handholding the camera, and spend a full day doing the crucial scene dozens of times, and just let the camera operators shoot it the way they please and feel, like a documentary... no film to waste and with instant review, a dream just a few years ago...

I think what is nice is the possibility to use all the lenses we have for stills, to give us different and very high quality views, instead of the wideangle adaptors we allways use...

[mccordia 73]

My team cameraman Costyn also shoots everything with a DSLR (550D I believe) and the resulting videos definately look nice.
Colorwise you do see the limitations (I think) related to the compression used. But the 50fps video the camera shoots, make it a joy to watch.


http://www.vimeo.com/15198192 - Video from a few weeks ago

And to compare http://www.vimeo.com/14062493 - First segment is HC5, second segment is Canon D550 (slowmo's in first segment are a post-effect)

JC
FlyLikeBrick
I'm an Athlete?

[AndyMan 7]

The first video camera I bought, A sony PC 120BT, I paid nearly $2500 for it. Since then, I've bought a PC1000 ($1200), HC5 ($850), and have just now bought a CX150 ($350).

By far, every progression in camera not only gotten remarkably cheaper, but has also provided a serious step up in video quality.

The video I get from my CX150 is simply beautiful, and far superior to anything that preceeded it.

Now you're asking why we don't replace these $350 video cameras with $1200 bodies that are holding $600 lenses...? The answer seems obvious.

To me - the only advantage of using the great SLR glass would be to get the depth of field you get with a great lens. I am curious about this, because I LOVE short depth of field, but I just don't see auto-focus working smoothly enough or keeping up with a moving camera flier when I'm set at F 1.2. Focusing seems like the Achilles heel of SLR video.

As far as I know, the only way to use one of these SLR's in freefall is to pick a big F-stop for depth of field and focus on infinity. Doing so completely destroys whats (to me), the only advantage of using such expensive gear. At a big F stop, I just don't see a compelling reason for the more expensive gear.

_Am

__

You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

[4dbill 0]

Most DSLR filmmakers will agree that the #1 reason for shooting DSLR in video mode is to emulate the “film look”” at a reasonable price. Red One “video” camera does that quite nicely but it costs as much as a new car. DSLR, starting around “only” $1000, is close to the film quality as it can get, again, for the price.
For general skydiving purposes, CX Sony camera work beautifully. It is a quantum leap better than Hi-8’s, which were revolutionary at the time, but it really can’t compare to the final filmic visual quality of DSLR, when shot and processed correctly.
There are a few key elements in making video look like film.
1. Color and dynamic range – Footage from video cameras, well, looks like “video.” I don’t know all the technical terms, but the highlights are blown out, shadows are too dark, and colors are over saturated, etc. DSLR has the capability of setting a profile where you can shoot everything flat (washed out), increasing dynamic range, bringing out more details and color in post, enabling flexibility in the look film makers are going for. It takes much more work, but the results are worth it. The footage from most consumer grade camcorders can’t go beyond the ‘video’ look.
2. Depth of field – This already mentioned, but it doesn’t apply in freefall since everything is in focus with wide-angle lens and high f-stop during freefall. For ground footage, however, when set properly, gives that nice soft filmy look, with controlled depth of field due to wide selection of lens and f-stops.
3. Progressive – DSLR’s do not do interlace, and films are definitely not interlaced.
4. Frame rate – Almost all movies are shot 24 FPS -- Most videos, 30 fps; DSLR, 24 FPS. Most people cannot tell the difference, but the viewer who care about the filmy look, can.

Above are just a few items I can think off my head at the moment. I am sure there are many more reasons that can be found at DSLR filmmakers’ forum. If you ask them about the quality difference between CX series and DSLR – well…
In conclusion, it’s all about the ‘look’ when shooting DSLR. The learning curve is relatively steep, even only to get a ‘decent’ look. To get an awesome look, however, it takes years. Here’s a good analogy -- most people can take pretty good pictures with point-and-shoot cameras, but consistently awesome shots are taken in the hands of very good photographers with good DSLR’s.

I, personally, am ‘decent’ at achieving that filmy DSLR look after a few months of experimenting. It will take years before I become pretty good, but like most serious photographers, I enjoy learning, and keeping up with imaging technology.

4Dbill
http://dslrforvideo.com
http://4dbill.com

[PharmerPhil 0]

Great post, but a small clarification:

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3. Progressive – DSLR’s do not do interlace, and films are definitely not interlaced.

True, but neither is film progressive. Both names describe a process of acquiring a single frame over a period of time. True film, on the other hand, captures each single frame all at once. And progressive has it's own problems when capturing moving images.

One other big distinction to me, although not as important for skydiving use, is the low-light capability of DSLRs versus small-sensor video cameras.

[BMFin 0]

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I'm assuming people have tried shooting video with a 7D or 5D MkII in the past but was wondering if anyone got any decent results with it. Stories, opinions, suggestions would be great. Thanks in advance.

Here is a Finnish music video with some skydive scenes on it. Shot with 5DmarkII.

http://www.miskoiho.com/music-videos/cmx-linnunrata/?ref=nf

[DSE 3]

it should be made clear to everyone that DSLR filmmaking is a niche market, one that is destined to remain small in the real world, and will quickly be replaced (IMO) by 4:3 cameras.

Let's look at the list again...
24p (most video cameras do this already, have for a decade)
Shallow DOF (any 2/3 camera does this as well as any DSLR, and can actually go more shallow with similar light sensitivity and greater dynamic range balance)
Progressive (most high end cameras can do this, and CCD cams do this without rolling shutter/jello which is a real issue with the DSLR cams).
Color (gets hosed in AVC compression)

There certainly are upsides, big ones for the careful guy who wants to make great movies. But the compression of these cameras also carries huge issues, and when you combine DOF with the compression, those issues can become a lot more prevalent.
Not to mention very few NLE systems can manage the native files from the DSLR's, so a transcode (greater time and quality loss) is required.

To sum up...
Walk this path carefully, do your research, understand where they are and are not good tool choices.

If by any chance you're in the NYC area, I'm doing two days of seminar on DSLR production at the Javits Center starting tomorrow morning. Passes are 600.00 but I've got a couple freebies.

[Costyn 0]

Also check out this thread on the T2i/550D for some more discussion on DSLR video shooting.

Costyn van Dongen - http://www.flylikebrick.com/ - World Wide Wingsuit News

[4dbill 0]

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If by any chance you're in the NYC area, I'm doing two days of seminar on DSLR production at the Javits Center starting tomorrow morning. Passes are 600.00 but I've got a couple freebies.

Man.. I was I was in that area -- I would take up DSE's FREE pass offer in a heartbeat!
A seminar like that would be better than going to a rock concert! Hmm... I must be getting old.

4DBill
http://dslrforvideo.com
http://4dbill.com

[dninness 4]

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Man.. I was I was in that area -- I would take up DSE's FREE pass offer in a heartbeat!
A seminar like that would be better than going to a rock concert! Hmm... I must be getting old.

I even said that to Doug: "Man, hanging out with you is like hanging out with Jon Bon Jovi, but you're way, way cooler.."

Spot was a total rockstar there. I poked my head into one presentation this morning before he arrived, and the presenter, while knowledgeable, was -flat-. Not anything like the 4 seminars of Spot's I went to, where its clear that he has a huge grasp of the subject matter at hand, and his stage presence is smooth..

NIN
D-19617, AFF-I '19

[DSE 3]

you are so full of shit.
It was all about the free bagels n' coffee for you :-)

Thanks for helping out when I needed my model. You're more handsome than Laszlo is, but he has that cool hat and accent.

Was a good time in NYC having some skydiving peeps attend the training and panels.

[Laszloimage 0]

Spot,
Thank you very much for the great opportunity to attend your seminars. Also many thanks to put up with some b#$$%sht with the organizers.
-Laszlo-

[dninness 4]

Quote

you are so full of shit.
It was all about the free bagels n' coffee for you :-)

Thanks for helping out when I needed my model. You're more handsome than Laszlo is, but he has that cool hat and accent.

Was a good time in NYC having some skydiving peeps attend the training and panels.

Damn. Caught me.

I still owe you lunch! :)

NIN
D-19617, AFF-I '19

[Zydrius 0]

more samples:

http://wn.com/5D_Mark_II_Trial_Jumps

[rhys 0]

nice crisp footage most of the time, whats the story with the heavy vignetting on some of the footage?

and that is a different king air at lodi to last year?

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

[Zydrius 0]

that one not mine. Accidentally found on web searching for 5dm2 samples. thats the story

[Cashmanimal 0]

This is my video from a few weeks ago... the vignetting is from the Peleng 8mm on the 5D, not an ideal combination unless you're flying inside (even then, still not perfect). It makes for cool footage if you're sitting in front of a big screen, but for the youtube's I think it's too much.

I don't jump at Lodi a lot, so I can't really confirm anything about the king air other than the whole fleet seems to be a bit re-arranged.

It's all fun and until someone loses an eye... then it's just a game to find the eye

[Zydrius 0]

5dm2 for ground, gopro 960 for aerial shots, will try next time 5d in air.

http://vimeo.com/27220792