It is now official. The soon to be released firmware update will give us 24p/25p, live histogram, some better audio and that is about it. Sure it is great, but I guess I am not the only one who was hoping for more (as in 60p@720).
Still, I am an happy camper. On top of having a more film like look, 24p clips will take about 20% less space on my CF cards or be 20% longer.
Are we going to see another firmware update until the 5DMrkIII? I doubt it. The 5D has now evolved into a full cinephotographer tool and Canon answer to the Red Scarlet is probably going to come in some other form.
Canon rumors has a picture from a presentation where we can see the list of features which will be added with the next firmware in March.
The features are:
- Manual sound recording level & meters
- Histogram display when shooting in manual mode
- AV and TV mode for shooting video
- Increased audio sampling rate to 48k.
- 24/25 fps at 1080p.
So what does that mean?
First, no 60p720. That really sucks if it is true! I wont talk too much about this simply because everybody must feel the same as I do about it.
On the other hand, the new features are great! Shooting in AV/TV mode is an incredible feature if you need to shoot a subject moving in a variety of exposure and want to maintain a constant look.
While I dont care too much about the audio features, I know a lot of people who will appreciate it.
I kept the histogram for last. If there is one feature that can redeem the lack of 60p720, it has to be this one. While it is impossible to get a perfect exposure by judging the LCD image, using the histogram makes this job ridiculously easy.
What about stills?
Seems like there is nothing new for still photographers. This is a little bit ridiculous. How hard can it be to add a 5-7-9 exposures bracketing or auto ISO limits? Lets just hope there was a second slide to this presentation.
Shipping date
The week of March 17 is the rumored date and fits in the time line I was given (post Olympics) so I tend to believe it. I guess we will see soon enough!
News from BeachTek
First, got this email from BeachTek:
To everyone waiting for the new DXA-5Da XLR adapter for DSLR cameras, they have now shipped ahead of schedule to both B&H and Adorama. The first shipment is in very limited quantities but we are expecting the next, much larger batch to arrive before the end of March. The new DXA-SLR with built-in preamplifiers and phantom power is still on schedule to be shipped by March 30th.
next, the MultiMount5D will be available at the end of March for 89$.
Vimeo goes 1080p and HTML5!
You can read about it here. I dont know which one is the most important: 1080p or HTML5… So far, these upgrades wont affect many people/video since most people are not using a HTML5 browser and the clips are rarely uploaded at 1080p resolution.
At least, now you know and you should change your Compressor presets to use the new resolution.
5D Firmware update
A lot of people have been talking about the upcoming firmware update. Planet5D is now talking about a March launch. Guess what? That is what I have been talking about since 2009! The release of the firmware was bound to the Olympics. Canon wants videographers to shoot the events with the 1DMrkkIV and not the 5D (they want people to see pro using the pro bodies). Once the Olympics are over, they will push the new firmware.
Zeiss new HDSLR lenses
I could say a lot of things of why this is big news, but Vincent did it very well already in his post.
Aperture3
I have been using A3 for over a week now. Expect a detailed review by the end of the weekend.
Edit: forgot to add this link to a quick overview of the video feature of A3 by the folks at Still Motion.
New content
I have been working on a few personal projects recently expect to see some of my work soon. Both in stills and motions.
If there is one thing no one was expecting this week, it has to be the release of a new HDSLR camera. Yet, that is exactly what Canon did. The new Rebel T2i is, on paper, an incredible package priced ridiculously low.
For the photographer
18mp on a 1.6x crop factor, I will have to see some real life sample shots to judge image quality but it is interesting to see the ISO going to 6400 (extendable to 12k) for an entry level toy. That is quite good if image quality is at the rendez-vous.
It also benefits from a lot of features that used to be restricted to the double prosumer bodies like improved auto focus and light metering. From a photographer perspective, it should be considered a decent upgrade for any 50D or older camera owner (if you dont need the burst rate). At least, from a specs sheet perspective.
For the videographer
Remember how 5DMrkII owners felt when the 7D was released? Well, 7D owners are now feeling the same! The new rebel can shoot video full manual and has variable frame rate (24p, 25p, 30, 50p and 60p), something to make 5DMrkII owners jealous. I know because I am!
Of course, the camera will probably not have the same low light image quality as the 5DMrkII (and maybe the 7D) and it is not full frame so it does have its limitations. Yet, it is a fraction of the cost of its ‘better’ alternatives. Read the rest of this entry »
We talked about it earlier and now it is official. You can read the press release here. The interesting part is Canon talking about a 2x gain in speed for Prores 422 HQ transcoding compared to Compressor. Then again, if you are using MPEG Streamclip, the speed gain should be about the same.
This last sentence sound a bit weird to me:
Additionally, users will also be able to add timecode, reel names and metadata to footage quickly and easily – further enhancing the experience of EOS MOVIE users when editing their footage.
This could mean that we will not have access to the camera metadata, something that was part of the original product developed by Gluetool.
Release date, for the free beta, will be in March so new features might pop in until then.
Note: Thanks to Peter Wiggins for the link on this one, almost missed the announcement!
A lot of people talked about the announcement of the EOS E1 plugin for FCP yesterday so I feel like I have to talk about it too. As far as we know, it is all vaporware so far since the software is not released yet. Old time blog readers might remember this post from Vincent Laforest testing a similar tool developed by Glue Tools (which has not been released yet, hence my lack of faith in unreleased software!).
So, what is all the fuzz about anyways?
Why do you need a tool to import files from the CF card to your computer? The finder/Explorer is already doing a fine job. Well, the first reason is to make the file importing task part of the FCP workflow. When using the Log & Trans window, you can attach other process to the import action, for examples sending the file to compressor for transcoding, make a backup copy on another drive, add meta tags, etc… Pretty cool and a nice time saver, especially if you are working on a set.
Now about what it cant do…
I have seen a few cut&paste reports of people saying the plugin would allow users to start the edit with the video still in the camera/CF card. Sorry but this sounds more like a sentence taken from the generic Log & Transfert feature description than what you can expect to do from this plugin. You still need to transcode to ProRes if you want real time editing, and it is not like we are shooting 45 minutes long clips with the 5D, we are limited to 12 minutes so no real need to partial file import. Actually, I dont even know if it is possible with the H.264 codec to do partial import without re-encoding the whole clip.
So, is this a big announcement or not?
Yes it is because the Log & Trans tool is part of a professional work flow. Pros are used to it and expect it. While not a show stopper, it was keeping the 5D away from being seen as a ‘real’ tool on a production set.
The plugin is not out yet so we can’t confirm its features but I hope the file metadatas include exposure settings, lens used, camera id, etc…
Once released, the plugin will be available here.
Finally, someone realized that pressing the start/stop button is a pain when using a shoulder rig. While Red Rock Micro already has a solution to this problem, it is not elegant or practical since you have to place the remote in front of the camera. The solution proposed by Switronix is better (since you can position the remote at the back of the camera), yet not perfect. Before going further, lets look at their press release.
NEW FLEX DSLR Remote from Switronix Inc.
January, 27th 2010
Rockville Centre – NY: Switronix Inc releases the FLEX DSLR Remote. The FLEX is a patent-pending, handle mounted DSLR remote unit that triggers HD video start and stop recording for Canon 5D/7D. The FLEX’s unique gooseneck arm houses an optic to be positioned within line of sight to the remote sensor on the Canon cameras (transmits up to 1m away, 135deg spread). Once positioned, the remote transmits a signal through the optic when the button is depressed.
The arm can be extended up to 12″ and coils down to approximately 3″ in diameter. The FLEX’s all metal construction will standup to the everyday rigors of HD DSLR video production. Max clamp diameter 1.5″. Powered by 2 included AAA batteries. The FLEX DSLR remote will have a street price of around $150.
Shipping week of 2/8/10
For more information Visit: www.switronix.com
150$?
Yes, that is a little steep and it does not look super ergonomic to me. While I applaud the idea, I hope someone comes up with a more refined solution. Actually, I know someone who is working on a similar issue: me!
Should you get this?
Unless there is a use case I did not think about or you really have to position the camera in an awkward place, I think it would be better to wait and see what the competition is coming with.
I am giving an HDSLR training class next Sunday. If you are in the Montreal area and would like to know everything there is to know about HDSLR, contact me! The course is for photographers who want to shoot video so we are starting from the very basics and end at the moment where the files are imported in FCP. You will learn everything in between!
The class will be in French and will last around 3 hours, more if needed. It is mostly targeted at 5DMrkII owners but 95% of the content is also valid for 7D and 1D owners. Users of other brands can attend but about 25% of the content wont be relevant to them (ex: I dont know how picture style works with the D300s).
For the amount of content I am packing in and the small size of the class (5 learners), this is ridiculously cheap @ 130$ for what you will gain.
So, if you are interested, contact me for more details.
It is with great pleasure that we introduce our new sister site: the Canon5dTips Market!
What is it?
It is a place for you, the users, to publish ads for gear you want to sell and for prospective buyer to find gear at great price. It is mostly targeted at Canon cinephotographer but you can post gear from any brand. As long at they are related to HDSLR.
How much does it cost?
It is free!
Why use this instead of a forum?
By using various fields to gather the relevant information, we hope to make it easier for buyer to find the gear they want. And if it is easier for the buyer to buy, it will be easier for the seller to sell! The structure we use to publish your ads also maximize their visibility toward Google and other search engines.
Any cool features to help sellers?
To increase products visibility, randomly selected ads will be places it in the sidebar of Canon5dtips. This mean over 1000 people will see the ad every day. If that isn’t giving sellers all the visibility they can get, I don’t know what it is!
What about features for buyers?
They are coming…
I don’t have anything for sale and already have all the gear I need. Anything I can do to help?
Of course! A market place is only as its popularity. So please, spread the word: Tweet about it, talk about it in forums, Facebook it, etc… The bigger the site grows, the easier it will be for you to buy/sell gear when time comes!
Anything else coming up?
Yes.
Final word
I know the system is not perfect, yet, but I am working on some improvements to come in the next few weeks. If you have any cool idea, please contact me.
Canon announced the release of a new file transmitter earlier today. We talked about the earlier version of the product a while ago when reviewing the iPhone application DSLR Remote. At the time, everyone agreed that the WFT was nearly useless for 5DMrkII owners because of its slow transfer speed.
That is why I was quite intrigued to see Canon releasing a newer version of this aging product. You can read the full press release here but here is a summary:
- uses 811.a,b or G no N! This is a big let down. Sorry Canon but a G network cant handle a trigger happy event shooter! Like with the previous version, the camera uses the CF card as a buffer and send the files over the air as fast as it can. Which is ridiculously slow when you think about the card filling rate of cameras like the 5DMrkII and 1DMrkIV!
- easier network setup: finally, a lot of people complained about the setup of the previous product. Nice to see improvement in this area.
- FTP/server mode: allows photographers to connect to the camera with their browser and directly download files from it. Notice that I did not say pictures but files. We we can get video and stills. It also allows the users to control the camera from their browsers. We dont have details about the resolution of the liveview feed but if it is good enough, maybe a laptop could be used as a wireless camera monitor! Then again, lets not get too excited, I am sure the resolution will be 640×480 or lower…
- EOS utility: similar to server mode but uses ESO utility instead of a browser.
- Camera linking: allows you to remotely trigger a bunch of camera when you take a picture with the ‘master’ camera. I see this as being of marginal use, unless it can also be used to start/stop movie recording. Then it would be incredibly useful in a multicam setup.
- USB Host: For me, this is the big thing. A USB connector allows you to plug a GPS or.. a USD hard drive! I can clearly see myself use this with a G-raid Mini
and shoot all day while never having to worry about data security and filling my cards! Lets hope the USB plug is sturdy enough so the cable can hold.
- Presentation stuff: plug-play into some presentation stuff. Seriously, who cares?
And now the price… 700$ Is it worth it? Unless you really need one of its features (like the USB host), I think it is wise to pass.
As most of you know, news products generally mean new firmware coming up soon too! Lets all cross out fingers and whisper 24p/50p!
