Bruce Wilson72035
Active member
I read about the HD video recording capabilities being a game changer, but looking at the audio, I can't see it that way.
Built-in mic: a toy at best. We'll not mention it again.
Microphone input: No details yet, but since it's labeled "MIC", I presume it's a mic-level input, not line-level. It's also not labeled "PIP" (for "Plug-in Power," needed to power simple electret mics), so until someone who knows mics plugs in and let's us know, I'll assume we have no PIP.
That leaves two audio input methods: a dynamic mic, and external mic preamp. Dynamic mics, while useful on stage, are practically useless in the field because of the insensitivity and proximity effects making for widely varying audio levels. That leaves us with an external mic preamp. Not that it's a bad thing; mic preamps give you a lot of control over audio, but will only function if the audio level on the camera can be set and the AGC disabled.
Conclusion so far: if you want to use the camera to store your audio, you'll need more equipment besides the mics and cables.
Sync recording: there is no input for timecode (TC). Very big problem. Most professional filming uses a separate sound recorder optimized for great sound, not added as an afterthought (see SoundDevices.com for examples). To keep audio and video synced, time code should be generated by one of the devices, and sent to the other device so that in editing the two will be "locked" and won't require the poor editor to move them relative to each other and fiddle with the clocks to maintain sync.
So without a TC, this camera is destined to shooting unlocked, which leaves it shooting soundless in most professional video applications. B-roll work. Not that B-roill shooting is bad. But it does make the 5DMkII the other camera you bring to a shoot. And then all sorts of gremlins jump out: can the video be made to match the A-roll camera? Primarily in color and frame rate. If not, then it's not even a good B-roll camera. I'm guessing the video quality is very good, and that it might be a straightforward job to get the cameras to match, after a sufficient amount of testing.
But there are some video applications where this camera could shine: Nature filming (not animals, because of the 12 min limit), landscapes, and time-lapse, where the audio is always recorded separately, and never locked (or Foley). For nature and landscapes, it already perfect, with the lens selection available, it's actually about the best camera you could use.
Remaining difficulties: external power, and interval timing. Video field work requires long shoots, and external power is a necessity. The US Canon website shows a DC power adapter, so we're looking good there.
Interval timing: missing. I'm really hoping they can add it, because it seems the buffer is plenty big to handle the long GOP needed for H.264 encoding, and the image quality and lens selection could make this the industry standard for time-lapse work. It would need to be implemented better then the G9 did it, at a minimum the way the Sony PC330 did.
So my idea of the best of all possible 5DMkIIs: an interval timer added to the camera that lets us adjust the interval from .1s to 1d, display a loop of the recent footage after every frame (or at least after every n frames) or display the loop when a button on the remote is pressed, have a settable camera-off timer. Dream function: programmable focus shift. And add TC-in to one of the existing IO jacks.
--
Bruce Wilson
http://science.uvsc.edu/wilson
Built-in mic: a toy at best. We'll not mention it again.
Microphone input: No details yet, but since it's labeled "MIC", I presume it's a mic-level input, not line-level. It's also not labeled "PIP" (for "Plug-in Power," needed to power simple electret mics), so until someone who knows mics plugs in and let's us know, I'll assume we have no PIP.
That leaves two audio input methods: a dynamic mic, and external mic preamp. Dynamic mics, while useful on stage, are practically useless in the field because of the insensitivity and proximity effects making for widely varying audio levels. That leaves us with an external mic preamp. Not that it's a bad thing; mic preamps give you a lot of control over audio, but will only function if the audio level on the camera can be set and the AGC disabled.
Conclusion so far: if you want to use the camera to store your audio, you'll need more equipment besides the mics and cables.
Sync recording: there is no input for timecode (TC). Very big problem. Most professional filming uses a separate sound recorder optimized for great sound, not added as an afterthought (see SoundDevices.com for examples). To keep audio and video synced, time code should be generated by one of the devices, and sent to the other device so that in editing the two will be "locked" and won't require the poor editor to move them relative to each other and fiddle with the clocks to maintain sync.
So without a TC, this camera is destined to shooting unlocked, which leaves it shooting soundless in most professional video applications. B-roll work. Not that B-roill shooting is bad. But it does make the 5DMkII the other camera you bring to a shoot. And then all sorts of gremlins jump out: can the video be made to match the A-roll camera? Primarily in color and frame rate. If not, then it's not even a good B-roll camera. I'm guessing the video quality is very good, and that it might be a straightforward job to get the cameras to match, after a sufficient amount of testing.
But there are some video applications where this camera could shine: Nature filming (not animals, because of the 12 min limit), landscapes, and time-lapse, where the audio is always recorded separately, and never locked (or Foley). For nature and landscapes, it already perfect, with the lens selection available, it's actually about the best camera you could use.
Remaining difficulties: external power, and interval timing. Video field work requires long shoots, and external power is a necessity. The US Canon website shows a DC power adapter, so we're looking good there.
Interval timing: missing. I'm really hoping they can add it, because it seems the buffer is plenty big to handle the long GOP needed for H.264 encoding, and the image quality and lens selection could make this the industry standard for time-lapse work. It would need to be implemented better then the G9 did it, at a minimum the way the Sony PC330 did.
So my idea of the best of all possible 5DMkIIs: an interval timer added to the camera that lets us adjust the interval from .1s to 1d, display a loop of the recent footage after every frame (or at least after every n frames) or display the loop when a button on the remote is pressed, have a settable camera-off timer. Dream function: programmable focus shift. And add TC-in to one of the existing IO jacks.
--
Bruce Wilson
http://science.uvsc.edu/wilson
