Dont be shy, I know this site has some Icelandic visitors! Here is the proof from Google Analytic:

I need your help. I am planing to visit Iceland (exclusively to shoot video/photo) at the end of April. I have a few questions regarding travel in your gorgeous homeland, the first being how I am supposed to pronounce ‘Reykjavik’!

For your troubles, I will bring you a (real Canadian) beer or can of maple syrup!

You can find my contact info in the about page of this site.

Thanks!

Came back from the electronic store yesterday and got these parts. Anyone guessing what I am working on?

This one has been one of my biggest pet peeve for a while and I think it is time to use my very limited influence to correct this:

We should say HDSLR, not HD DSLR!

You probably know what a SLR camera is: SLR standing for Single Lens Reflex. A few years ago, the D was added for “Digital”. Actually, it should have been NSLR for Numeric SLR (since the SLR at the time were already using digital technologies) but I think marketing departments thought it did not sound cool enough and went with DSLR.

Fast forward a few years and the term HDSLR starts popping around as an acronym for Hybrid Digital Single Lens Reflex. By hybrid we mean a camera that can take both stills and videos.

The fact that the first popular HDSLR (Nikon D90) recorded in HD made a few people call these HD DSLR for High Definition Digital SLR but if you think for a moment; it does not make sense because:

• DSLR already produced high definition images
• It does not say anything about the video capability of the camera.

So a DSLR that can shoot video should be called HDSLR! Pass the word.

Now that 2009 is over, I would like to know what you, the visitors, would like to see more of next year. More gear reviews? Talk about software? More news? Filming techniques? Should I talk more about photography? Tell me how I can help you!

I already have a few interesting things lined up but I am always open to suggestions. Leave a comment or email me directly: boss at canon5dtips dot com.

Welcome to 2010. The question you should ask yourself now is: what can I do in 2010 that will make me a better videographer than I was in 2009? The answer is probably not a new piece of gear but a behavioral change.

I spoke about this to a few videographers and their suggestions were:

• spend more time working on the score/sound effects.
• spend more time preparing for the shoot (storyboard, script, etc..).
• shoot a narrative story instead of just concept videos.
• participate in every video contest.
• work with an assistant (or even better, a mentor).

In my case, my resolution is to film at least two short story. What are you going to do?

I also have a few resolutions regarding the website and its content. While 2009 was a great year for Canon5dTips, 2010 will be much bigger! I have:

• a few products that have been in the pipeline for (what seems) ever and should be out this year
• a plan to change the site design and content structure to something very cool and stylish
• something I cant even talk about yet

Happy new year!

In case you are in needs of more memory card (who is not!), Amazon is selling some fast & big CF cards today in their ‘End of Year deal’ section.

The best deals are with the Lexar Pro UDMA 16 GB 300x CF card or the Sandisk 8GB Extreme CF UDMA.

Just a quick reminder: HDSLR dont need super fast card to record video, any recent CF card will be fast enough. The added speed is only useful to save time when transferring the data from the card to the computer. Even then, you will need a fast card reader such as the LexarCF FireWire 800 Reader or the Sandisk Extreme FireWire Reader to benefit from the added bandwidth.

Amazon also has a nice rebate on the Pelican 1520 Case. I have two of these and love them.

I hope you can all spend this day with the people you love and care about.

I know this is totally not related to my previous installation of the Z-Finder(it is just a bad coincidence), but since Sunday morning my 5D has been behaving strangely.

In still mode, everything works fine but when I switch to liveview the shutter starts to flip randomly between 2-10 seconds. If I press the record button, it stops flipping and record normally. The flipping action is exactly the same as if the camera was in burst mode, except no pictures are taken. If I press the AF ON button while it is flipping, it will eventually stop, acquire focus and either stop flipping or not once I release the button.

To fix the issue, I  have tried to: change batteries, use another lens, clean everything, use manual focus and change camera settings. Nothing worked.

I Googled about this without success. Am I the first person experiencing this issue?

I am calling the store today to have it fixed. How much do you want to bet that I wont be able to reproduce the problem once in the store?

Of course this issue appeared the day I was shooting an engagement clip and did not have my spare 5d Mark II with me! GRrr