Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips
In the above video from Beet.TV, Vice President & Director of Associated Press Broadcasting News, Kevin Roach, talks about writers taking on video projects and photographers adding the 5D Mark II to their arsenal in order to tell a story beyond a single frame.
No doubt the 5D Mark II is a game changer; however, Roach’s commentary on the AP’s approach to news gathering and what this new era of DSLRs has done for the AP is interesting nonetheless.
It’s not everyday that you see something with as much raw creative genius as ‘The Ice Book.’ Davy and Kristin McGuire made this magical little pop-up book with a 5D Mark II, a MacBook, paper, scissors and light. [Read more…]
If you’ve not been keeping up with The Story Beyond The Still contest, the final short chapter launched at Sundance earlier this week. You can see the entire short film above with a total run time that’s a couple ticks under 38 minutes.
Lots more on Vincent Laforet’s site. Also, there’s a great recap of the work on the final chapter from Ryan Booth, one of the chapter directors, here on his blog.
Canon’s official press release is below. [Read more…]
Canon has announced the availability of a locking mode upgrade for the Canon 5D Mark II and 7D, which will prevent the settings from accidentally being changed. For now, the service upgrade has only been announced for Japan and will cost 10,500 yen (roughly $125 USD).
No word yet on the availability of this service upgrade in the US or other markets.
Is this a feature that you would want? Will you pay for the upgrade if/when it becomes available in your market?
[Canon Japan via Rob Galbraith]
Below you will find this week’s firmware updates. Hit the manufacturer website links for more details and download instructions for the firmware. [Read more…]
Just had to pass along this cool commercial with a behind the scenes as shot with a 5D Mark II. Faith in the driver while hanging that camera outside the barrier, eh?
[via Fresh DV]
High Dynamic Range (HDR) photography has been quite controversial over the past few years. But, if you thought HDR photos had fans and foes, just wait until HDR video catches on.
The above clip from Soviet Montage is captured using 2 Canon 5D Mark II cameras shooting the same scene simultaneously with the aid of a beam splitter. One camera is recording at +2 EV and one camera is recording at -2 EV.
Regardless of how you feel about the HDR effect, you have to admit that these shots are interesting at least. You can also bet that a feature like this will be built-in to a camera within a couple of years or so.
[Thanks to Dean for the tip!]
The Zacuto Quick Draw is basically a trimmed-down version of the Zacuto Striker (without the shoulder stock), and actually I don’t even know that you can pick up the Quick Draw as a standalone product anymore. Nevertheless, Zacuto prices have dropped, and the Striker kit is even in a relatively reasonable price range now.
As far as simple, low-key DSLR support goes, I’m a big fan of the Quick Draw. I didn’t really think that would be the case going into my use of this rig since it didn’t include a shoulder support. However, after getting used to the kit with my 5D Mark II, I was very pleased with the flexibility of the Quick Draw.
Read the full review over at Tech Tilt: Zacuto Quick Draw DSLR Rig Review
Canon must really feel flattered with all the press that other camera manufacturers are providing. Just last week, Panasonic released a behind-the-scenes video (subsequently taken down) that revealed its new Panasonic G2 commercial was shot with the 5D Mark II, although it appeared to be captured with the Panasonic G2 at first blush.
And, while Sony hasn’t gone to the amount of effort that Panasonic did to showcase Canon’s full frame camera, the EXIF data embedded in the promo shots for Sony’s new Cyber-shot cameras (WX5, TX9, T99) reveal that many were shot with the 5D Mark II (see top screen capture). [Read more…]
Canon has issued a firmware update for the 5D Mark II. Firmware version 2.0.7 addresses the following issues, which were introduced in firmware versions 2.0.4 and 2.0.3.
Download and installation instructions for the firmware are available on Canon’s website.