Shooting video with 7d!
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- grafiske
I need some professional help!
I am shooting a video over 2 days with a 7d - it will be rented and I don't have much experience.
There will be a director and a 1st shooter..
I am wondering if anyone here has tips on how many compact flash cards to have on hand - we were thinking 6-8 16gb cards and just keep dumping the data onto 2 drives as we go.
We want to be able to continously shoot for about 6 hours.
Also wondering how much footage they hold?
I think we will be shooting at 60fps.
Any help would be incredibly appreciated.
- xpxhxoxexnxixx0
ok..couple of things...
first of all, you cant shoot continuously with these things...they will max out at about 12-15 mins...they also tend to overheat the chip/card after that time, so you may want to give the cam a rest after about 10-12 mins. In order to shoot like that for 6 hours, your going to need at least 5-6 16gb cards. Those files will be quite large so make sure your drive is comparable to that data. you could also just rent the 32 or 64 gb cards and cut that in half. Also, keep spare batteries...shooting continuous video will drain the hell out of them.for setup , keep the shutter around 50, adjust the iso accordingly. dont forget to set your white balance ahead of time as well. If you are shooting at night, anything moving fast will create shutter lag or flicker..you can try using some lighting or correcting in post.
if you have any sound, i recommend also renting something like a Zoom H4n, plug it into the cam or use it with a pair of headphones so you can hear what you are recording. If you have speaking parts, you can also try a Lan mic (attached to the person like on tv)..hook the Lan mic up to the H4n.
Rent a lens that is good across the zoom range if any zoom at all...85mm 1.2 and the 50mm 1.4 are great lenses for depth and have crisp picture. They are also great in low light. You can also try the 24-70, a favorite of many- pretty versatile lens.
If you are shooting on the go, you can rent a small rig..the rig can be shoulder mounted or chest mounted or handheld. this will give a more stable picture if you are moving with the shot.
hope that helps.
- keithrondinelli0
To add, I can't stress the importance of a variable ND filter if you are shooting in daylight – it's the only way to maintain the film-like 50 shutter speed and still get a shallow depth of field which is the key to getting these cameras to look cinematic. If you're outside, and you don't have an ND, you'll have to either knock down your f-stop of increase your shutter speed, and both of these will make your video look like video...
This was shot with a very simple setup, outside – a Lumix GH2, with a Canon 28mm lens, 50 shutter, lens wide open and the Fader ND filter. Maybe not professional-level cinematography – just a vacation video after all – but it feels like film at least to me:
- moldero0
6 hours on an SLR? thats gonna suck.
- vaxorcist0
Practice like crazy manually focussing and follow-focussing. The limited depth of field is GREAT for some effects but can be very, very tricky for things that are not completely predictable.
Moldero's right, your arms and eyes will kill you after a while.....
You do have a tripod + fluid head?
- moldero0
if you rent a pro vid cam, you can still be rolling tape while SLR dude is busy switching cards.
- Julesvm0
I own a 7D and everything xpx said was good advice - however, I recommend renting a professional camera for a professional shoot. I find that the 7D is amazing to fuck around with when you're shooting something for yourself, but if you've got a client (or anyone) over your shoulder I would go with something more reliable.
- zoozoo0
maybe 4.
- grafiske0
Are Macbookpros CF card readers? I know there is a slot for some kind of card but I never use it...
Anyone have experience using a laptop in the wilderness and dumping onto flash drives?
Thanks for all the info everyone!! So helpful.
- a guy I hire that uses SLR always brings his laptop with a crapload of cards, he has an assistant that empties the cards onto the laptopmoldero
- onto the laptopmoldero
- during shootsmoldero
- jokingly i always yeal "get a real video camera dude!"moldero
- MBP's have an SD slottymeframe
- but its just an inside joke between the 2 of us because hes always talking about the SLR film lookmoldero
- with a good vid cam, you can get the same film look, they just cost a hell of a lot moremoldero
- Ambushstudio0
Have 2 7D's with the same lens as sensor overheating will be your biggest problem.
- xcreonx0
I also would highly suggest renting an ENG style camera for this amount of shooting. You could rent a Sony EX1 or EX3 for not much more $ and save so much time not having to deal with CF cards, overheating, wobble from CMOS sensor, arms getting tired from holding the DSLR, etc. The Sony codec is far superior, Sony SxS cards can hold a ton of footage, you can shoot true 60fps and you would also get pro mic inputs as well. Just a thought.
- xcreonx0
^ Meant to add that I shot with these Sony cameras for years before plopping the cash down for a Red Epic and I can't recommend them enough. Great cameras for the price.
- inteliboy0
There's a data wrangler app on the mac that does all the work for you in terms of managing files -- copies card data across, makes a backup, checks files, then formats card. Can't remember the name though...
- inteliboy0
Also I find 125 - 150 shutter speed create's a better 'film' look.