This is officially my first blog entry of any kind. Fairly Exciting.
...So I'm in the process of "tricking out" my 5D for a doc I'm going to shoot in Albania. It's been a ton of research and I still don't have all the answers, but basically the 2 main options for turning your still camera into a viable option for video are: www.zacuto.com or www.redrockmicro.com
Although Zacuto is way more expensive (and arguably more well-made), I prefer the red rock hand grips, follow focus, and the red rock quick release system so I may end up making a composite from the best of both manufacturers. In my case, it's complicated because I shoot "Goofy-Eyed" (left eye) and so I need to offset the camera to my left.
The thing I am most proud of is discovering that if you mount a quick release plate to a cheeseborough plate you can go from handheld to tripod mode in a matter of seconds.
What gets expensive in all honesty (besides lenses) is a decent mattebox, filters, and tripod. You will no doubt end up spending way more for the accessories than for the camera, but you will have a better product than most prosumer cameras in that price range. Optically anyway.
As for audio, becahtek makes an adapter which should make audio decent if not professional quality:
http://www.beachtek.com/dxa5d.html
You still have the 30p to 24p issue to address and this guy has one solution which I haven't tested and can't speak to, but is interesting to ponder: http://philipbloom.co.uk/2009/05/30/how-to-convert-canon-5dmk2-footage-from-30p-to-24p/
Anyhow, I still have a lot more research to do, but it is exciting to play and explore the phenomena of a still/video hybrid.
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3 comments:
Excellent
Rachel,
I just saw Public enemy and I was shocked at how crappy it looked, so shocked that I waited till the end credits to check which camera it was shot with (a Cinealta)
Does the Red look that bad? Chromatic abberation, noise, yuch.
I'm actually thinking of buying the same Redrock rig you are looking at. Is there a market for 5D videographers?
I'm not really feeling the Beachtek adapter. You can monitor through it, but the signal isn't necessarily representative of what's being "printed" in the camera.
I think a better option is to shoot double system sound. No need for a clapstick, as you have your in camera track to sync to. Also, your sound recorder is independent of the cam. Can't pull over your tripod if the recordist walks away! The zoom H4N has xlr inputs and has really good quality...
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