Monday, November 30, 2009

First Impressions of the 7D!

Well, I did it. I made the jump to DSLR's. It's about time. The first I even heard of DSLR's was probably just six months ago, which is way too late considering my good friend Sebastian Burke and I consider ourselves pretty up to date with current camera technology. Somehow we overlooked the whole DSLR wave; and boy were we missing out.



For those who read my blog and aren't involved in the filmmaking industry... A DSLR is essentially a camera. However, recently Canon, Nikon and Panasonic have added into some of their cameras the ability to shoot HD video through their still cameras. Now, the still images the camera produces are still vastly superior to a still from the HD video; but, with a DSLR I can now use beautiful 35mm film lenses. There were adapters for video cameras that existed before these particular DSLR's but they were expensive and when combined with lenses and a video camera, quite cumbersome.
I've been using video cameras/camcorders to shoot every moving image I have ever shot. I'm used to having motorized zoom, real time auto-focusing, and decent quality built in sound. Needless to say this is quite a switch. Here is the first test video I have shot with the 7d. My kit list is at the bottom.

Thanksgiving 7D Camera Test from Jesse Tarnoff on Vimeo.


Here are my first impressions.

The Good
35mm Lenses - I can now use lenses that give me beautiful bokeh without having to back up 10 miles away from my subject and zoom in. Plus, with the added bonus of my Macro lens, I am able to achieve close ups of incredible detail.

Low Light Shooting - By adding ISO to the function of my camera, I have one more variable that changes how my camera takes in light. ISO in reference to film is how sensitive the film stock is to light. A higher ISO means it's more sensitive to light. As far as how good the 7D is in low light, consider this. I would normally shoot an outdoor daylight scene at around 200 ISO. With the 7D I can go all the way up to 6400 ISO. Now this isn't night vision of course and there is plenty of film grain when dealing with 2000+ ISO. However, being able to shoot with very little light on my subject is going to be a major plus.

Weight - Being a DSLR, it is incredibly light, even with my heaviest lens mounted.

The Bad
Image Stabilization - coming from years and years of experience with built in optical stabilization, making this switch is hard. I only have one lens with stabilization and a problem with it is that I can hear the motor running in the lens. Not only that, the stabilizing isn't up to par with what I have seen on the Sony Z7U or HVX200. For the most part, hand held without any kind of support system is almost not usable. I will be looking into a Zacuto gunstock and a very good monopod when I can free up the funds.

Focus - Not having a follow focus is a problem. That is also on my list of upcoming investments. I was having trouble because I'm not usually an auto focus guy, especially with these DSLRs. But when I switch into manual, I had problems judging where the focus ring was on my lenses. Of course, with time this problem will go away as I will become more familiar with my equipment. The Zacuto Z-Finder that is on it's way should also help with my snap focusing because I will be able to tell what I have in focus and what isn't with a little more ease.

General Thoughts
I love it. I am so excited. I've recommended to both my friend Sebastian Burke and Ben Tuller to sell their HVX/HPX kits and invest in a DSLR. On the other hand, I think that the HVX teamed with a 7D or 5DmkII would be a great team. Feeding audio into the HVX using the XLR inputs while shooting a wide shot teamed with a 7d CU or medium really could be perfect.

My upcoming investments to my kit are going to be an intervalometer for the 7d, a monopod, a Glidecam 4000HD, and a 77mm polarizing filter. After that I'll be adding to my glass kit.

Here is what my new camera kit consists of:

Camera: Canon 7d
Lenses: Canon 24-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
Sigma 105mm f/ Macro
Canon 52mm f/1.8
Sigma 10-20mm
Support: Bogen Tripod, 501 Fluid Head
1 meter Glidetrack SD (to be reviewed)
Misc: Zacuto Z-Finder (to be reviewed)

I also added in a few 32gb Compact Flash cards, extra batteries, and the AC adaptor (over priced).

2 comments:

  1. Dude,

    The video looks good. Also like the one you made for reframe. Nice stuff. Hope all is well.

    Rob

    ReplyDelete
  2. DISTRIBUTOR TERPERCAYA NO TIPU-TIPU
    BARANG DI JAMIN ASLI /ORIGINAL
    CANON,NIKON GARANSI PT DATASKRIP/ALTAKINDO
    CANON
    EOS 1100D Kit APS-C Digital SLR, 12.2 Megapixel, LiveView, 2.7″ TFT LCD, SD/SDHC Card Slot, include EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
    Rp 1,990,000
    EOS 1DX Body Full Frame Digital SLR, 18.1 Megapixel, LiveView, Full HD, CF Card Slot, 3.2″ TFT color liquid-crystal monitor, CMOS Sensor, Body Only
    Rp 9,590,000
    EOS 5D Mark II Kit Full Frame Digital SLR, 21.1 Megapixel, LiveView, Full HD 1080, CF Card Slot, 3.0″ TFT LCD, include EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM
    Rp 4.999,000
    EOS 5D Mark III Body Full Frame Digital SLR, 22.3 Megapixels, LiveView, Full HD 1080, CF Card Slot, 3.2″ TFT Color LCD
    Rp 4,990,000
    EOS 5D Mark III KIT Full Frame Digital SLR, 22.3 Megapixels, LiveView, Full HD 1080, CF Card Slot, 3.2″ TFT Color LCD, Include EF 24-105L IS USM
    Rp.5.9990.000
    EOS 600D Kit1 APS-C Digital SLR, 18 Megapixel, LiveView, Full HD 1080, SD/SDHC Card Slot, 3.0″ TFT LCD with EF-S 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 II IS
    Rp 3,15 9,000
    EOS 600D Kit2 APS-C Digital SLR, 18 Megapixel, LiveView, Full HD 1080, SD/SDHC Card Slot, 3.0″ TFT LCD, with EF-S 18-135mm F3.5-5.6 IS
    Rp 2,859,000
    EOS 60D Kit1 APS-C Digital SLR, 18.0 Megapixel, 3.0″ TFT Vari-angle LCD, SD/SDHC Card Slot, include EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
    Rp 3,550,000
    EOS 60D Kit2 APS-C Digital SLR, 18.0 Megapixel, 3.0″ TFT Vari-angle LCD, SD/SDHC Card Slot, include EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
    Rp 4,300,000
    EOS 60D Kit3 APS-C Digital SLR, 18.0 Megapixel, 3.0″ TFT Vari-angle LCD, SD/SDHC Card Slot, include EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 ISRp
    4,540,000
    EOS 650D Kit1 APS-C Digital SLR, 18 Megapixel, LiveView, Full HD 1080, SD/SDHC/SDXC Card Slot, 3.0″ Vari-Angle Touchscreen LCD with EF-S 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 II IS
    Rp 2,900,000
    EOS 650D Kit2 APS-C Digital SLR, 18 Megapixel, LiveView, Full HD 1080, SD/SDHC/SDXC Card Slot, 3.0″ Vari-Angle Touchscreen LCD with EF-S 18-135mm F3.5-5.6 IS
    Rp 2,720,000.
    EOS 7D Kit2 APS-C Digital SLR, 18.7 Megapixel, LiveView, Full HD 1080, CF Card Slot, 3.0″ TFT LCD, include EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS.
    Rp 4,365,000
    NIKON
    Kamera DSLR Nikon D90 Kit VR
    Rp 3.490.000DX
    Spesifikasi: DX-Format Digital DSLR, 12.3 Megapixel, LiveView, D-Movie, 3.0? TFT LCD, SD/SDHC Card Slot,
    include AF-S 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G VR.
    Kamera DSLR Nikon D3100 Kit VR
    Rp 2.350.000
    Spesifikasi:DX-Format Digital DSLR, 14.2 Megapixel, 3.0? TFT LCD, SD/SDHC CardSlot, Bundling AF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR
    Kamera DSLR Nikon D3000 Kit VR
    Rp 1.850.000
    Spesifikasi:DX-Format Digital DSLR, 10.2 Megapixel, 3.0?
    TFT LCD, SD/SDHC Card Slot,include AF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR
    Atau Kunjungi Web Remi Kami di:
    www.asia-elektronik77.blogspot.com
    BURUAANG HRGA PROMO TERBATAS
    JL.Kh.Hasyim Ashari No.125 Sentral Jakarta 10150 {JAKARTA PUSAT}
    Minat HUB/SMS:
    TLP.021-4067-5777
    HP:085328222842
    PIN BB:2B373ADE
    Cara pemesanan online
    Nama:
    Alamat:
    Kota tujuang:
    Tipe brng
    Jumla brng:
    Kode pos:
    Hp yg slaku aktif:
    Di Kirim Ke:085328222842 PIN BB:2B373ADE

    ReplyDelete