Comments on: The Canon 5dmkII, a documentarian’s video camera?

By: pbloom

pbloom — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 11:16:26 +0000

good luck! sounds busy! Kata bag is great. Just hate their wheel design

By: scott compton/remedy editorial

scott compton/remedy editorial — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 06:36:12 +0000

good point Philip. I just read your blog about Delhi. I’m off to Shanghai, Mumbai and London over the course of the next week shooting “good design” b-roll. My fellow photographer and I will be shooting 5Ds with super small crew (read: knowledgeable driver) so I’ve set the challenge for us to pack all of our camera gear into 1 backpack each and share a tripod case. Notice that you have a Kata bag….served you well?

thanks…

By: pbloom

pbloom — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 15:47:39 +0000

thanks Scott. What i have been doing on this doc and the director doesnt need his questions is i button off and on around 9-10 minutes in during a questions and leave sound running. using pluraleyes plug in i dont need clapper board or sync point so its really easy.

By: scott compton/remedy editorial

scott compton/remedy editorial — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 07:30:31 +0000

Having shot probably 60 hours of interviews using two 5Ds in interview settings on some very emotional subject matter, I must say that pausing for 30 – 45 seconds every 11 min or so is quite natural and unobtrusive to maintaining the focus of the interview. Having a smart slate running secondary audio system makes sync a breeze.

Love your work btw.

By: pbloom

pbloom — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:09:16 +0000

of course. 7d is easier for me with 25p.

i need a rig, find it impossible without.

i love the minimal gear for travelling. its a joy!!

By: Aaron Kohn

Aaron Kohn — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:31:52 +0000

Would you reconsider at all with the 7D? It would be great to think that I could get by doing travel documentaries with just it.

This seems pretty intense: http://www.vimeo.com/6995256

And can one not focus without the whole rig? I shoot stuff on a Pro HD camera handheld…could this be that much worse handheld?

Thanks. Certainly confusing, but would be great to have my radio kit, still kit, and video kit all in one. No more lost bag concerns in Johannesburg or wherever or excess weight junk. Focusing on the fly scares me.

Thanks Philip

By: Philippe Jadin

Philippe Jadin — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 06:14:36 +0000

And you can always keep the sound recorder running and add a “cut” shot (like a shot of the hands of the interviewee or something) to fill the gap in the image.

By: Untitled Memories » Colourist – The Ronin

Untitled Memories » Colourist – The Ronin — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 09:09:59 +0000

[...] from the beautifully shot piece! Keep an eye out for it entitled Voices for Change. Shot by DP Phillip Bloom and directed by GreenPeace’s Lucy [...]

By: Philip Bloom » Blog Archive » The Canon 5dmkII, a documentarian's …

Philip Bloom » Blog Archive » The Canon 5dmkII, a documentarian's … — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 11:36:37 +0000

[...] The rest is here: Philip Bloom » Blog Archive » The Canon 5dmkII, a documentarian's … [...]

By: endeavour

endeavour — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 14:55:52 +0000

Looking forward to seeing the end result. I envy you the use of the Rapid Fire and especially the Z finder. I am just back from the US but wasn’t anywhere long enough to pick one up there. I got to B&H in NYC 10mins from closing which is a bit like being a kid let in a sweet shop and then dragged straight back out again. Still managed to buy a lens though before they got me back out of the door

Which monopod did you use? I took a 560B with me which is the smallest in the Manfrotto video range. It made a big difference when I got to use it but this was only a family holiday and my teenage kids would groan with embarrassment and disown me as soon as I took it off the bag. Having video and stills in one package rather than in two meant I got a lot more footage and stills than I would have carrying two devices. The biggest problem is weight both in operation and just general lugging about. The 5D2 body is no lightweight on its own and with even a 17-40L on, you would not be worrying about only having ONLY 12mins shooting handheld. Shallow DoF looks great but its not easy to manage in holiday footage which must be the least planned form of documentary. By definition, it means that nearly everything is out of focus. Getting the right bit in focus without the Z-finder with something like an 85F1.8 is hard on the LCD screen especially if the subject has the audacity to move. I am short-sighted and I have to peer over my specs to see the LCD or through them to see the viewfinder. This also will embarrass your kids and they seem to retaliate in the modern fashion which is to take their own pictures of your comic expressions and post them on Facebook!

The lens I bought in B&H is the Tamron 28-300f3.5-6.3 VC. I know its not an L class lens and not going to deliver shallow DoF like a 2.8. However, there are times when you just want to travel light or inconspicuously and you don’t want to lug along a 10Kg bag with you. It has a zoom range similar to a palmcorder or a small bridge compact. The VC works silently unlike the Canon and is physically about the size of the 17-40. Optically it is softer than an L especially at the long end but I suspect the lower resolution of video and the different aspect ratio are going to mask that. As for shallow DoF, I am going to try and stand a bit further away and zoom more – I am sure my kids will approve of that.