EOS 5D Mark II HD Video

EOS 5D Mark II HD Video Review

I had a chance to borrow a EOS 5D Mark II for a few hours from fellow photographer Tom Whetten of Wildlife Photo Tour.

It was really easy to use the video feature once I had it set up right. I wanted to see how it would work with my big lenses. It's so cool to be able to take HD video using Canon's high-quality lenses. I put the camera on my 600mm "L" series lens and was thrilled to be able to take videos of a Black-Chinned Hummingbird hovering and landing on a feeder! I wish I could have had more time to play with the camera so I could have found more interesting wildlife to video.

It was simple to do - I set up the camera and lens as usual, with a 2X teleconverter, then focused for the perch on the feeder where I expected the bird to be and set up the exposure the way I wanted. Then I pressed the "Live View" button, which shows the live image in the LCD screen on the back of the camera. When the hummer came into view, I pressed the "Set" button, which starts the video recorder (after you've set up the camera in the functions menu to do that). Pressing the "Set" button again stops the video recording. And when I wanted to take a still photo at full resolution, all I had to do was press the shutter release, which pauses the video recording long enough to take and store the image, then the video recording automatically restarts.

In the video above, there's a slight pause about midway through - that's when I took this image in mid video. If you have the volume turned up, you can hear the click of the shutter. Once the photograph was captured and stored, video recording continued.

Something I discovered in a subsequent video is that I could adjust the exposure in mid video. In this case, I noticed on the live view that the bird was darker than the bright feeder, which was throwing off the exposure. So I added some + exposure compensation, adjusting it by what I could see in the live view. In the resulting video, I can see when the exposure changed, the same as I saw in the live view.

I wanted to do more, but Tom needed the camera back to use on his Northern Arizona Nature Photography Tour. If I had had more time, I would have liked to find more wildlife to video, as well as trying out some of the other advanced capabilities. For instance, the EOS 5D Mark II's ISO can be set as high as 6400, which might make it possible to photograph owls in the evening with the 600mm lens. I also wanted to try some macro photography/video. I know that once the camera becomes more available, I'll need to get one!

To see a comparison of the current best prices for the Canon EOS 5D Mark II from the most popular retailers, see the Digital SLR Camera Guide and Price Comparison

EOS 5D Mark II HD Video News

March 2, 2010 firmware update press release

London, 2nd March 2010 - Canon today pre-announces the release of a firmware update for the multiple award-winning EOS 5D Mark II. Originally announced in late 2009, the update adds 24 and 25 frames per second (fps) recording to the camera's EOS MOVIE video function, and will be available as a free download from the middle of March.

Developed following feedback from photographers and cinematographers, Firmware 2.0.3 further enhances the EOS 5D Mark II's excellent video performance. The addition of new frame rates expands the camera's video potential, providing filmmakers with the ability to shoot 1080p Full HD footage at 24fps (actual 23.976fps) - the optimum frame rate for cinematic video. 25fps support at both 1920x1080 and 640x480 resolutions will allow users to film at the frame rate required for the PAL broadcast standard, while the new firmware will also change the 30fps option to the NTSC video standard of 29.97fps.

A new histogram display for shooting movies in manual exposure, shutter-priority (Tv) and aperture-priority (Av) have been added, and exposure modes will also be available in movie mode. Improved audio functionality will allow users to set sound record levels manually using a sound-level meter displayed on the LCD screen. The audio sampling frequency has also been increased from 44.1KHz to 48KHz, providing the optimum audio signal typically required for professional or broadcast material.

With its full frame CMOS sensor and compatibility with Canon's wide range of premium lenses, the EOS 5D Mark II is already recognised for its outstanding HD video performance. Launched in September 2008, the camera immediately created a wide range of new possibilities for photographers and videographers, and the addition of new frame rates and manual audio levels extends those possibilities even further - allowing movie makers to shoot stunning movies to suit practically any creative purpose.

Extreme sports photographer Richard Walch was one of the first to be given the chance to use the newly updated EOS 5D Mark II to shoot the snowboarding movie "I Love My Friends". Commenting on the EOS 5D Mark II's video performance, Richard said: "The addition of the new frame rates opens up a whole new range of possibilities. If you're a cinematographer, independent film maker or just enthusiastic about making your own movies, get out there and give it a try".

"I Love My Friends" shot by Richard Walch on the EOS 5D Mark II with the new firmware includes a look behind the scenes video is available to view at http://www.canon-europe.com/eos5dmarkII.

The firmware will be available to download from mid-March from the Canon website http://www.canon.com/eos-d/

February 8, 2010 EOS MOVIE Plugin-E1 for Final Cut Pro press release

London, 8th February 2010 - Canon today announces the development of a plug-in that will enable quicker and easier editing of EOS MOVIE footage in Final Cut Pro. A free Beta release of the plug-in will be available to download for testing and evaluation in March 2010.

'EOS MOVIE Plugin-E1 for Final Cut Pro' is being developed to provide an even smoother workflow for EOS MOVIE users who edit using Apple's Final Cut Pro software suite. The plug-in will enable the 'log and transfer' of video footage from Canon's EOS 5D Mark II, EOS 7D and EOS-1D Mark IV Digital SLR cameras - all of which offer full 1080p HD video recording.

The plug-in will convert EOS MOVIE footage to Apple's high quality ProRes 422 codec at approximately twice the speed of Apple's standard conversion. 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.

EOS 5D Mark II More HD Video Reviews

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