Official Canon Firmware: 5D MkII Firmware Update

[1]

Mal, Were you in my wallet today? I bought one this morning from B&H LOL!

WOW...knew you would, just didn't think it would be THAT soon!

[Barnaby]

If one was to buy a body only kit, what would be a good all purpose lens to go with it? I have no experience with SLRs.

[1]

The one that comes with the kit is good.

But if you want to save dough, and get some "starter lenses" and then build from there, you should at least get the cheap 1.8 50mm:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...2685/KBID/3590

I have a really cheap ($165) 19-35mm wide angle lens from Phoenix which isn't half bad:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...2685/KBID/3590

Though the lenses to pine for are the 70-200mm, 2.8 IS:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...2685/KBID/3590
or the slightly cheaper f4 version (which is slower, lighter, and some say sharper, and has a newer IS):
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...2685/KBID/3590

and the 16-35mm, 2.8:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...2685/KBID/3590

[0100]

will wait for the 60d!
rumor says 720p 1080p
if the 24p upgrade is true, then the 60d could have the 24p too.

I don't think the 60d will have manual control like the 5d II now has. At least until someone hacks the firmware...

Wish I had the scratch for this 5d II.

[Barnaby]

Thanks for the lens advice

I think I might see if I can borrow one to try out before I take the plunge, I have been very impressed by all the demo vids so far though.

[dcloud]

I don't think the 60d will have manual control like the 5d II now has. At least until someone hacks the firmware...

Wish I had the scratch for this 5d II.

I would disagree but lets just wait it out

[jabloomf1230]

The 5d2 firmware 1.1 with manual video is out and people are impressed by it. No 24p yet, though. I'd post a link, but it's all over the internet. Sample the responses as needed. Here's the firmware, if anyone is still left on the planet without it:

http://web.canon.jp/imaging/eosd/fir.../firmware.html

[rhervag]

dialing 1/50 shutter seems to fix the strobing issues for us in PAL land...
at least in my tests on neons and leds available around here

[Lucasberg]

Downloaded and installed the firmware,t is pretty sweet. Before that this afternoon I took shakey handheld and OOF video clip today at a photo shoot with the twist trick at F4 with my 70-200 2.8L . It was awesome, the Shallow DOF was amazing. I was never able to do it bofore but it was overcast. Then tonight with the new firmware I just tested 2 clips of my living room at 1/60 ,iso 1000, F1.8 looked really good then 1/60 iso2000 at F2.8 looked good but the shadows had a slight pixelation but still way better than my hv20.

[Eugenia Loli-Queru]

Solomon Chase, the guy who shot the legendary "Rainy Day" short with an HV20 two years ago got a 5D MII a few days ago, and he now sells it for $2600 (with an 8 GB card). Not sure why. I mean, if Canon adds some 24p and official zebra support, I will get one myself for sure and never let it go! In fact, I am thinking that if I buy this camera I will probably not buy anything else for the next 10 years because it will be good enough for a long time!

Lucasberg, can you confirm that the camera retains exposure compensation settings between takes, or if you turn off/on the camera? I mean, in auto mode! Thx!

[rhervag]

^^ follow him on twitter and you'll know why http://twitter.com/batteryfire

btw, in 10 years i'm pretty expecting that we'll all be shooting 4K and 2.35:1 ... so you might be lusting after some other cool gadget !

[Ian-T]

I mean, if Canon adds some 24p and official zebra support, I will get one myself for sure and never let it go! In fact, I am thinking that if I buy this camera I will probably not buy anything else for the next 10 years because it will be good enough for a long time!

This is exactly my thinking also. I still might buy without the 24p (hoping that it will come in a few months). I'll probably hang on to it for more like 5 years though (that'l be about the time Scarlet surfaces...lol).

[riiszasiet7]

hi guys,
What does exactly this firmware enables?
exposure, shuter speed and iso? the 3 of them?
can you modify them while shooting?

Could you do that without the firmware?

thanks guys.

chers ricky

[szimmer]

Anyone have a good work around for the 12minutes of continuous footage max time limit?

That to me seems like the only major downfall.

But man that quality is UNREAL!

Simon

[Lucasberg]

Lucasberg, can you confirm that the camera retains exposure compensation settings between takes, or if you turn off/on the camera? I mean, in auto mode! Thx!

I can when I get home from work but I'm sure someone will confirm it today.

I have a 24P Vegas question since I really don't use it but in Vegas I put a 30p clip in a 24p timeline then checked disable resample and rendered to 24p. It seemed like nice 24p but I am not a 24p guy so I dont know.Is this a bad way to get 24P from the 5D2? It didn't seem to hard.

[rhervag]

hi guys,
What does exactly this firmware enables?
exposure, shuter speed and iso? the 3 of them?
can you modify them while shooting?

Could you do that without the firmware?

thanks guys.

chers ricky

no firmware = full auto : you can't control much except locking your settings just before each shot and then it's gone. so one needs to trick the cam into getting these settings every take. tedious and very annoying.

new firmware = full control. basically you choose shutter speed for your desired motion blur (1/60th for NTSC or 1/50th for PAL is the most wanted film-like 180° shutter speed. faster multiples for action scenes a la crank/save private ryan work great too)
and choose aperture to establish the look and focus (short or deep DOF).

finally select ISO for proper exposition. using ND filters and polarizer if needed (especially for sunny outdoors) to avoid clipping whites.

changing them while shooting is not desirable since aperture is not a continuous process.
it's the least one to adjust in full auto mode, causing artefacts.

[riiszasiet7]

got it now, thanks mate!!!!

cheers
ricky

[-Rogue5-]

Lucasberg (or anyone else with the 5DmkII), would you mind posting a few 5 to 10 second clips directly from the camera with the new firmware?

I was trying to find some, but can't. I really want to see footage (a slow pan of a living room or something) at 1/60, with the "neutral" setting at various Fstops and ISOs (particularly ISO100, ISO640, ISO800 and ISO1600.)

As for the 30p to 24p conversion, I've been using Philip Blooms method (which he learned from a guy named Denver Riddle). You basically keep the footage at 30p, edit, colour grade, and note the length (to the exact frame). You render that out, conform to 23.98 (so it's slow-mo), than retime it using the length noted when it was at 30p and place that video on top of the original audio. It makes it sound overly complicated, but the results seem pretty good (they're just incredibly slow to render - 1hour per 1min at hte highest quality). THE PROBLEM is, all of the footage I've been able to get has been at 1/30th shutter, so there is an excessive amount of motion blur.

-Rogue5-

[Eugenia Loli-Queru]

^^ follow him on twitter and you'll know why http://twitter.com/batteryfire

Ah, but I already do, thanks for the tip. That's how I found out he's selling it. :P
However, he replied the answer to (also popular) Ben Reese, instead of making a normal Twitter post, and so public replies to someone else do NOT appear on my Twitter page.

[Eugenia Loli-Queru]

I can when I get home from work but I'm sure someone will confirm it today.

Thanks, looking forward.

I have a 24P Vegas question since I really don't use it but in Vegas I put a 30p clip in a 24p timeline then checked disable resample and rendered to 24p. It seemed like nice 24p but I am not a 24p guy so I dont know.Is this a bad way to get 24P from the 5D2? It didn't seem to hard.

No, this is just dropping frames from 30p to 24p, the way Vimeo does it (and has choppy pans). There are three ways to go from 30p to 24p, none of them is good:
1. Drop frames (by disabling resampling)
2. Guess frame motion (by keeping resampling, it's the ghosted look)
3. Re-time (you slow-mo 30p to 24p, which might make it look unnatural -- great for music videos though)

Options 1 & 3 are useful when going from 25p to 24p, or 30.00 to 29.97 etc. In other words, they are good for frame rates close together, but it looks bad for frame rates further apart. Option 2 is only to be used for artistic purposes, if you are specifically looking for that look (which is why it was surprising to me that Vegas will have resampling by default).

[1]

Anyone have a good work around for the 12minutes of continuous footage max time limit?

Yes: after 12 minutes you hit "record" again!

To Ian and Eugenia: although I do also agree that this cam is relatively future-proof for some years as far as PQ is concerned there are still underlying difficulties: it's not a dedicated camcorder and as such is certainly not as easy to shoot video with. Also, how long DOES the live-view last? Wasn't there a rumor that the thing would burn out after some hours?

If I'd have a choice between a Scarlet or a 5D MKII, I'd chose a Scarlet...however, there is no choice right now.

And at nayad: I doubt 4K will be mainstream in the next 30 years.
The world is struggling with 720p and 1080i/p, and that alone will take decades to propagate...
Unfortunately the time has come where newer technology is only affordable and desired by a few at the top of the foodchain. Most are content with cheap, mediocre quality.

[szimmer]

Thanks 1!



Guess that means no!

[Ian-T]

..it's not a dedicated camcorder and as such is certainly not as easy to shoot video with.

Well, you wanna talk difficult, I’ve been shooting with an HV20 for the least couple of years…lol.

All joking aside I’m trying to wrap my head around the difficulties… I guess if I’m constantly trying to rack focus with a blurred background (for everything) then I can see where that would be an issue. But when in doubt I could just leave it wide open right (Meaning Wide DOF)? Also I understand that it did not originally come with zebra functions. I see that Hudson has added some sort of colored zebra function to help with exposure. That should be familiar territory for most of us right? The one area I can see getting into trouble would be the focusing. But since it has HDMI out we should be able to use an external monitor of some sorts to focus with. I understand that it’s not at full resolution but it should help somewhat. Other than all the above mentioned I can’t think of why this cam would be any harder to use than my HV20.

Also, how long DOES the live-view last? Wasn't there a rumor that the thing would burn out after some hours?

I heard this rumor also. I hope a cam that costs as much as this one is robust enough to last several years. I’d be satisfied if the odds of this happening were as bad as tape heads in DV cams going dirty after several years of use. But I guess I’ll worry when we start hearing of folks actually going through this problem.

[rhervag]

And at nayad: I doubt 4K will be mainstream in the next 30 years.
The world is struggling with 720p and 1080i/p, and that alone will take decades to propagate...
Unfortunately the time has come where newer technology is only affordable and desired by a few at the top of the foodchain. Most are content with cheap, mediocre quality.

yes, i agree but also aknowledge how 10 years ago i was not even thinking of owning a 21 megapixels camera.
there's obviously room for many improvments in the upcoming years as hardware companies need to keep selling newer gear to stay in business.
plenty of time for us fellow hv20 forumers to climb at the top of the foodchain

[tkmslee]

I loaded the new firmware to my 5D and it does retain all settings that you left it at. Fully manual.

I also tried the method of 30p to 24p that Philip Bloom uses and it is very close to 24p and does not show the normal signs of dropping frames.