New 5DmkII firmware here finally! New Skywalker Ranch short “Above Skywalker” and Music Video “Miles Away” shot native 24p

Firmware now available again. Version 2.0.4

Download new firmware by clicking here

Simply download the file, stick it on a compact flash card. Make sure battery is fully spammed up and not almost out of juice, go to menu, select firmware then click update. Simple!

I have been lucky enough to have played with the new firmware for the Canon 5DmkII over the past couple of weeks. It has utterly revitalised my love for the camera. The 30p has always been a problem. it’s a frame rate that is of no real use to me as I need 25p or 24p for my work. Converting your rushes from 30p is more than a nightmare, it take forever so I usually cut in 30p then convert the finished edit, fine for your own project but now so great if you need to hand over rushes to a client. This can take sometimes over a day depending on how long your rushes are.

Because of this I pretty much shot all my work, especially my paid work, using the 7D as it had the frame rates I needed. A shame as I prefer the full frame look and the 5DmkII is better in low light than the 7D.

Canon announced at the end of last year that they would be bringing 24 and 25p to the camera finally but didn’t announce a date. Well that day has finally come!

The downside is there is no 720p 50p or 60p mode. Probably due to overheating issues? Just 23.98, 25 and 29.97P. Bu we also get live histogram and very importantly the ability to turn off the auto audio control. We now have manual control over our audio, albeit not in the easiest manner. You have to go into the live view settings, select the manual option and once there you see audio meters! Yes audio meters..you can set the level in fine increments to what you want. The downside is you cannot change the levels or see the once you start recording as you can only see them in that menu. Go back into live view and you lose the levels and the ability to change them. We also still don’t have a headphone jack so monitoring is out of the question, but we now get 48Khz sound instead of 44.1 Khz. To access 30p select NTSC from the menu, to get 25p select PAL from the menu.

Other good news is we have increase in recording bit rate to around 44 mbits now, up from around 38 mbits.

One thing I would love to have seen is for the monitor out not to drop to 480p when you hit record. It still does. A shame as it does make it hard to focus when rolling. The 7D and 1DmkIV stay the same when you hit record.

The 24 and 25p out of the 5d is just beautiful. Much better than trying to use a convoluted workflow from my tutorial section!

So which camera now…are you confused? I am!

I still love the image out of the 5DmkII the best but the 7D still has more frame rates and doesn’t have the issues of 480p recording monitor out. So…you need to decide what is the most important thing for you…The 7D image is still spectacular. Just a bit different to the 5DmkII. It comes down to your desire for full frame and your love of the different aesthetics of each camera.

I have shot three little shorts with the new firmware, first up is another relaxing beauty piece of the grounds around and above Skywalker Ranch, cleverly titled “Above Skywalker”. It is shot with the 24p 5DmkII and of course includes some nice timelapse. What is exciting for me is I used my new Kessler Crane Motorized Cineslider to get motion controlled timelapse. Makes a huge difference. I will do a blog tomorrow all about that. It’s a prototype so not for sale yet. The blog will have all details you need.

I also used the new compact pocket dolly with crank. I don’t think the crank is that useful but having the crank belt makes it super smooth and also dampens the moves nicely. Perfect size and exceptional performance.

What I wanted to do with this piece was just to take in the majesty of the surrounding area. It truly is breathtaking and this video doesn’t anywhere near do it justice. It’s so epic, serene and peaceful up there. Truly wonderful.

Above Skywalker from Philip Bloom on Vimeo.

The second is a music promo I did for local Austin band Monarchs’s singer Celeste Griffin. Celeste sung an acoustic track called “Miles Away” at the FCPUG party the other night and I got some shots of her singer and suggested that we try and do a spontaneous music promo for it as I liked the song so much. So I took her onto 6th street outside the bar and got her to lip sync the song a few times and just get some general B-Roll of her. We weren’t out for much more than 40 minutes doing this.  I used just available light, nothing else.

I asked her if she could record a studio acoustic version of the song the next day and to meet me for the golden hour by the river to get a few more shots.

So with the enormous crew of just me, we went out and shot a music video for about 1 and half hours in total. For the golden hour stuff I had the track on an iphone and Celeste lip synced to it. So simple and so easy.

I added some simple reverb on the live shots to make the audio sound more “live” but took it off for all the other shots.

It was handheld all the way using the Zacuto Tactical shooter and Z-Finder and just one lens, the Canon F1.2 L 50mm with a 72mm Fader ND. Really simple and really quick to shoot!

website:  http://monarchsfamily.com

itunes linkhttp://itunes.apple.com/artist/monarchs/id4056718

Monarchs: Miles away. 5DmkII native 24p from Philip Bloom on Vimeo.

Please ignore the 7D strap in these pics…I needed a strap and I couldn’t find my usual one so I ripped it off my 7D to stick on the 5DmkII.

Last but not least is my little film of Sutro Baths, this has been up a couple of weeks but I never said what frame rate it was shot on and nobody guessed. One person came close but close enough.

Here is goes incase you missed it

Sea from Philip Bloom on Vimeo.

Shot at Sutro Baths in San Francisco

Music by James Newton Howard from “Lady in the Water”

First section of water has no colour correction and is straight out of 5D. Shot of people in cave on is graded using Magic Bullet Looks (get 20% off with code bloom20 at www.redgiantsoftware.com)!

Shot native 24p.

Lenses used are 100mm Macro F2.8L. 70-200 IS F2.8. Canon 50mm F1.2, 90mm TS, 14mm F2.8L

221 comments

          1. If you set sound to manual in any mode then it is set as such in all modes, including the Cs.

            What’s not clear is if it is the action of setting manual sound whilst in C followed by an off-operation that stops sound recording or if sound recording is killed if the camera powers off in C whilst manual sound is simply the current setting.

            Anyway I don’t fancy experimenting, so like the good Mr Bloom says – keep it in M 🙂

            Hope the fix comes soon.

  1. Wow, both those new videos are amazing. The motorized slider gives such a great feel to those time lapses and I love how much “bokeh” you can get out the 5d with a 1.2, just beautiful!
    Your work is an inspiration!

  2. i’m going to look like a fool, but other than better low light performance… what “betterness” or advantage am i going to see from shooting on the full frame of the 5DMII over the 7D?

    don’t get me wrong: totally stoked for the addition of 24p (the main reason i was on pins & needles), but never even considered the fact of “oh yeah, and the 5DMII is full frame.”

    1. the difference is purely aesthetic as the 7D has better features still, HD monitor out, frame rates etc…I like the look of the 5DmkII but will still be using the 7D a lot purely down to that monitor issue…

  3. Beautiful sample videos!

    As for monitoring, it’s a shame Canon did not make that available as it would have been very simple for them to do. In my Digital Convergence podcast with Trammell Hudson, he mentioned to me in that episode that it was relatively easy to turn monitoring on and connect monitoring headphones to the AV Out jack – which is enabled in the Magic Lantern firmware update. Hopefully a version of Magic Lantern that supports Canon’s firmware 2.0.3 will be available soon and then will have monitoring again.

    As usual, Philip, you turn the ordinary into the extraordinary. Thanks for carrying us along for the ride and allowing us to peer over your shoulders as pioneer hybrid DSLR filmmaking.

  4. Beautiful. Thanks Philip! In the past in Dublin’s people it looked like a lot of the bokeh was octagonal, etc. If you want to get beautiful round bokeh out of the 7D, do you have get better lenses, or is it just a matter of having the iris wide open on a normal lens?

  5. Damm you Bloom! Well at least I got the first 25p film out in the wild. I’ve shot 3 films @ 25p and with the higher overall bit-rate and bits per frame I think there’s less compression artifacts and macro blocking, what are your thoughts?

  6. Had to come back and post this while I was downloading the firmware update, My girl and I started to watch your videos while I rubbed ice / hot on my YES sprain ankle it is beginning to swell…, First I skip the Sky walker ranch video because I knew I had to sit down still to enjoy that one so I skipped to the Monarch video and was in awe of how awesome you edited it especially the sound I love the way you mixed the live version and the studio version, was that with Plural eyes?, the 24p is amazing in full native frame and did you notice the dust in some clips! hate when that happens!

    The I sat back and we watched the Sky Walker ranch video and she STARTED TO CRY! very emotional! I let the video finished and asked was she pregnant or something?, she punched me in the ribs! and her answer was:

    “It was one of the most beautiful things she has ever seen, their is so much beauty in life!”

    Thank you Phil!

    P.S.

    YOU HELD UP ON US ALL THIS TIME?!?!? BAD PHIL!

  7. Wow, the Above Skywalker ranch video is incredible! the scenery there is breathtaking, It’s so beautiful it almost looks fake. You are a lucky man to be able to travel to all these amazing places. I’m just happy that you share it with the rest of us. Thanks for all your hard work!

  8. Very nice. The music video is very good but landscapes are really your forte.

    By the way, I see that you make good use of the 70-200mm f/2.8 IS. I can highly recommend the MkII that was released recently. Sharp as a prime throughout the range and one stop more stabilization. An unbelievably good piece of glass and a definite improvement over the MkI.

  9. I knew I’d love native 24p but I’m surprised at how much better the on board audio sounds to my ears now. Could you tell us what crop settings you are using for that CinemaScope wide look on “Skywalker” and “Monarchs”? How are you able to upload it to Vimeo without the black bars as seen on “Sea”?

  10. IDK personally imho Above Skywalker Ranch is your best piece yet. It really captures the mood, tranquil and sincere.

    I was just curious what picture style setting did you use on that video in particular?

    1. Hi Jimmy. I normally shoot dead flat, but I shot skywalker in…standard… accidentally! I don’t recommend that. It gave me a nightmare in post trying to bring down the highlights and rescue the shadows

  11. Quick question sort of related to this whole post. I used to be an art director on the ad agency side. All the commercials we shot were shot on 35mm film. Do the directors shoot the spots at 24p and then output the final file at 29.97 after the edit for broadcast or do they shoot at as close to 29.97 as they can? Just trying to figure out if 24p or 30p is going to be use more.

  12. Beautiful… really beautiful footage here Philip. I love how I can come to your site for the latest and greatest. Hooray for the new firmware, I feel like we should have a party!

    btw, What head are you using on the Cineslider?

  13. Thanks Philip! This is really awesome. Random question for you – what do you use to set the white balance. I am aware of the presets and correcting them in post with 3-way color correction in FCP. But is there a better way to do this – a white balance lens cap like Expodisc perhaps? Much appreciated!

      1. Thanks Phil. Do you mean dial in the preset or numbers? Basically I find that when I use this camera indoors and use the “Tungsten light” setting @ 3200, my video always looks way too orange when I view it. What would you recommend? Thanks!

  14. Philip, I was wondering if you could do a post just on the audio update and run comparison tests with the AGC on and with it off.

    I am about to buy the T2i and I was wondering if you have heard if there will be a firmware update for the audio on that camera?

      1. Lol! me too.. I was hoping you could provide an insightful shortcut… teehee… Seriously tho… What do you do about getting permissions for your audio? I’ve been using stock music up to now, but 98% of it is really not good, but it seems to me its a pain to get permissions for ‘real’ music when you’re on a lol budget. Would love to hear your thoughts on this.

        I have to say Philip, your course in LA was absolutely fantastic. I so appreciated your willingness and openness in answering all the many questions and sharing your experience. Top notch!

        1. Cheers Malcolm!

          Most stuff i work on someone else sorts out the rights. For my personal projects I either used Royalty Free tracks I have or I credit the artist. I never use unlicensed music for paid work.

  15. Sea was shot in 24p? Did you get the firmware early? Cool.

    Love the 2.35:1 ratio of the new videos. Any luck with the anamorphic lens + 7D?

      1. Yeah the Panasonic LA7200 anamorphic doesn’t really work very well at fast apertures. I shoot with it on the GH1 and it’s sharp edge to edge only at F4 or slower, which is lovely. You can get great results with it if you stop down.

        On the 5D Mk II, Zeiss 85MM F1.4 it’s crap! Can’t use it on full frame or below F4. Depends on the lens as well… I recommend the 10-22mm EFS on the 7D or Zeiss Flektogon 35mm F2.4 and stop then down a bit. This was with the 10-22 EFS + LA7200, all low light stuff… http://www.vimeo.com/10039537

        Hope you get it working better, really looking forward to seeing it in action on the 7D.

      2. I have the 7200 an isco 36 and had an isco 54. Compared to the iscos the 7200 is garbage, really soft and chromatic aberrations. The isco 36 is much sharper but has a 49mm rear thread so not a good fit for the L glass. The isco 54 has a 72/77mm rear thread and sits between the 36 and 7200 optically but it is a huge beast weighing almost a kilo. I shot this with the 36- http://www.vimeo.com/10175596

        1. I wouldn’t say the LA7200 is ‘garbage’, I think on the 5D it just doesn’t suit the large L lenses and large sensor. On the GH1 it works brilliantly because the centre of the LA7200 is really sharp, and that’s what is used with the 2x crop compared to 5D, which uses the blurry edges. It also depends on the lens.

          The Iscoramas are very nice lenses, 36 the sharpest. But for me it comes down to the issue of cost for the average punter. The price of Iscoramas is insane – 4x the LA7200. The cost of a 5D body is 3x that of a GH1 and 2x 550D. When it comes to anamorphics you can get almost as good results from a GH1 + LA7200 + Zeiss Flektogon 35mm F2.4 or the 14-140mm kit lens as you can from a 5D + Iscorama + god knows what expensive lens you need as the prime on that. You also have to focus the Iscorama separately AND the prime lens to match I believe. Is that true squiq? With the LA7200 at least you only have to focus one lens to set up the shot. Are you able to shoot wide open on a F1.4 lens with the Iscorama?

          Cheers for your footage dude, I’ll have a look now.

  16. Philip,

    We’ve come along way from futz’n with the letus flips and HC1/A1’s aye? I do not miss tape!

    I’ve enjoyed seeing your work over the years… and really appreciate all the hard work you put into your reviews and sharing your impressions of gear and technique.

    I’ve had a RED for about a year now, but use 5d2’s for anything quick and not as well… big. Just picked up a couple of t2i’s the other day and they are just so cute and easy to clamp onto things….

    Gosh… what will the next 5 years be like?

  17. Very, very awesome! Love this Skywalker film … as I posted on Vimeo, Richard Attenborough should come knocking at your door, honestly!!

    The music video rocks too – apart from the amazing images, I kept wondering how you mixed the live and studio version of the song so seamlessly! That really made it for me … it gives the whole thing a VERY authentic touch, your videos turn out so nice because you value the sound layer just as much as you value the image layer of a video.

    And your early posting of “Sea” without anybody noticing it’s shot on the new firmware on the 5Dmk2 is a perfect example that while we all love to geek around technological issues (me included of course), it all comes down to the result.

    The tools don’t really matter in the end, it’s only what we make of it!

    I know I don’t have to tell you but … keep up your amazing and passionate work!

  18. Phillip

    Great site. I have just retired after 28-years covering the White House for the Associated Press here in Washington as a still photographer. http://www.ronedmondsphotography.com

    My new goal is to learn to shoot video with my 5Ds. Your site and advice have been a great help in learning this new world for me along with enjoying your wonderful films.

    Thanks and keep it up. Coming to the Washington D.C. area anytime soon?

    Regards,
    Ron

  19. Great videos! What is the shutter spead you’re using when filming 24p with the 5D? Shouldn’t it be double the framerate: 48th of a second? This shutter spead isn’t available on the camera, or is it?

  20. simply beautiful.. all of the shorts..thank you very much for sharing them with us!
    one technical question… when you crop a 16:9 footage to a cinema aspect ratio there is a white line visible.. what is happening there?.. i witnessed that a lot in other examples.. would be glad if someone or you philip can give me an answer!
    again great work!
    greets iskender

          1. I see it here too (Windows XP), it’s a Vimeo compression issue. You may be able to get rid of it by using a Y resolution that’s multiple of 4, like 816, instead of 817.

            Cheers, and thanks for sharing all the info!

            1. Philip,
              I’ve encountered that same problem when cropping to 2.35. The solution I’ve found is to always export to an even numbered vertical dimension. Either 1920×816 or 1280×544. If you use 545 or 817 it adds a white line on most video sites.

              Love your work,
              David

  21. Hi Philip – yet again you produce something absolutely stunning! Thanks for sharing. I’ve been a follower / lurker of your site for a while now and it is through your knowledge, skill and generosity that has prompted me (this week, hopefully) to swap my entire Nikon system over to Canon (with the 5D MkII) and start shooting some moving pictures rather than just the stills I normally do. Can’t wait…

    Thanks again.

    Andy

  22. Amazing stuff again … curious to know if the MV sound from the live session was out of the desk into Zoom H4N or whether you micd it via Beachtek/JuicedLink or just straight in using the 5D’s new AGC disable and levels control?

  23. Very nice material Phil. Except for the music video, do you need to pay copyright using that music? Also, do you think Canon will bring out histogram whilst shooting and manual audio levels for the 7D?

  24. hi phil, this is my first post here but i am a big fan and have been following this site for a while. Now that you have 24p in 5DmkII do you think its good enough for a feature? i know this is a very subjective question but what is your take on blowing up the 5DmkII image on a cinema screen?

    thanks

    krish

  25. Those videos are amazing, Philip!

    I have a question about your timelapse shots, do you actually take individual jpegs and combine them or speed up an actual video footage in 24p?

    I’m asking because I’m wondering about the 4gb limit cut off if you’re shooting the timelapse a the video format.

    Thanks!

      1. hi philip… i was just wondering what your shutter actuations are at after all those timelapses since you bought your 5d!

        id love to know! ive had mine since december 2008, i feel like ive hardly used it and im already at 16,000.

  26. Hi Philip

    How do you chose whether to use 24 or 25. Is it shooting for TV Pal use 25 and 24 for everything else.

    What happens if you have to transfer to other formats eg digibeta etc. Does that affect your choice of framerate?

    I downloaded the tutorial video. Excellent. Will you be doing an update with more info for those of us who paid for the tutorial?

    Thanks for all the info and inspiring films.

  27. This is inspirational stuff, Phillip! Love all three. As far as the UK is concerned – and never mind Steven Fry – you are rapidly becoming a national treasure.

    Thanks for everything you are doing.

  28. Nice one philip. i was going to say i knew you had that firmware update in your hands – but of course, i’d be lying.
    how do you manage to do all this work – do you get any sleep?!
    carl

  29. easy captain how are you?

    its been a while you still owe me a drink!!! if you ever make it back to uk:(

    now the audio been sorted on the 5d, would it be better to use a beach box or
    stick with the zoom recorder

    cheeeeers

    Suresh

  30. New firmware locked and loaded, just need to get my arse into gear and shoot something now.

    Looking forward to watching the new films tonight, but I have a quick technical question for you about 24p. I did a quick test shooting 1080p24 from the PAL menu and the NTSC menu. Both of them show 23.97 as the frame rate in Quicktime X with a slightly lower bit rate showing in PAL. Does 24p always refer to the drop frame variety?

  31. Wow, amazing footage. Everytime I get ready to go out and film I watched some of your videos, and that becomes my inspiration to get the best of every scene. Thanks for sharing these videos, they are in the top of my list.

    Valdense

  32. How beautiful is the sky above Lucas head filmed by Philip Bloom ! 🙂

    How many seconds between 2 frames in your timelaspe ?

    Thanks for these videos !

  33. Above Skywalker is quite superb, in fact I prefer it to the original Skywalker film. Really lovely job, and the scenery is quite breathtaking. I think there must be quite a few people in the film industry that are running scared because of the capability of kit like this.

  34. I downloaded the firmware last night and the footage is beautiful. I also started using some sharpen filters thanks to a comment you made on one of your posts ( made all the difference ). That RollingShutter plugin really helps too. It’s just a little pricy. Very exciting for the DSLR community. Thanks Philip for your guidance and inspiration in this rapidly changing medium.

  35. Phew! Thanks Philip! We’ve been shooting a low budget feature at 30fps for past few weeks and either running footage slow or converting a la Bloom/Riddle method, which looks great on still/low movement shots but takes ages and doesn’t do fast camera movement so well. This update couldn’t come soon enough for me. Thanks. Just gutted not come sooner!

    Cheers

      1. I have looked at that lens as well, but shied away from it, as it’s impossible to put any VariND filters in front of it. This means that you can only work in certain light conditions, or have to minimize your aperture, with loss of DoF as a result. What’s your experience?

  36. Did you notice the ‘remaining time’ display on the info screen when you’re not recording? Great new feature that doesn’t seem to have been publicised. Saves having to guess how much time you have left before your CF is full.

    Only real complaint is that the little microphone icon covers a part of the image when you have the ‘minimal’ info display on – the one where you see iso, exposure etc along the bottom below the image.

  37. The longhorn cattle are fantastic, wonder how far were you shooting from so you avoided a charge!!!

    I did notice some Moire in some far away detail but nothing to huge. BTW you just cropped Anamorphic right? Or did I miss something about lens adapters.

    Good 1 on you for keeping tight lips on the firmware, you must have chuckled when everyone saw the Sea short and was awed at the motion. We didn’t know what was being presented until now. 😉

  38. Firstly, inspirational stuff mate! Fantastic work.

    Secondly, I’ve been following your blog for a while now and, for obvious reasons, everyone is raving about the 5Dmkii and 7D. What i’m curious about is the lack of comments/posts about the 1Dmkiv.
    I’m interested to hear your thoughts about about mkiv (or any one else who cares to share). I have access to all of these cameras for a film shoot and was hoping to make an informed decision about which to use (especially now that they all do 25p). Hmmm.

    Thanks, keep up the amazing work.

  39. I noticed in the one of the bar shots of the music video someone was pulling focus on another camera down low in the crowd. Was that a mirror shot or did you have a second camera shooting?

  40. Amazing work Philip!

    I’d love to ask about your workflow with Magic Bullet Looks. I was turned on to MBL after watching your class and I’m having a ball in it. The only problem I have is a pretty significant image difference when I send the graded image back to Final Cut. I spoke with Red Giant, and they mentioned it was a Final Cut bug, and were working on a fix, but didn’t have a timeline for release. I’ve modeled my workflow after yours and have seen a dramatic improvement in all aspects of my work. This is the only tricky issue I’ve had. Have you found a workaround? Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

    Thanks for all of the inspiration and knowledge!

  41. Great work! truly inspiring. I have a small production company in London and we use the 5D and 7D for pretty much every shoot other than when we shoot on film. I want to buy a rig to use for hand held shooting that has a follow focus and one that will last. Which one would you recomend? Also im gonna buy a monitor, i was thinking of the DP1? What you think.

    Keep up the good work.

  42. Stunning work Phil, looking to get the 5D as a b-roll camera. It would be our first switch to HD as we are still shooting in SD. Certainly prefer the pictures from the 5D compared to the 7D based on what i’ve seen on the web, and the manual sound addition is now a decent improvement. Opinion seems very polarised on DSLR’s with some top video cameraman writing the DSLR’s off as rubbish for filming and others like you embracing it. As you have advised we are treating it as a specialist b-roll camera that also adds stills to our portfolio. Fantastic work Phil and great to listen to your ustream from Austin.
    Thanks for all your help provided from this site.

  43. Hi Philip,

    Have been reading your blog for a while now, but this is my first post.

    1. The amount you produce genuinely scares me.

    2. Very cheeky of you to have been showing us a native 5D 24p film all this time… But I wonder, that no one suspected it as being 24p, is it aesthetically that beneficial? It makes me think now that it’s greatest benefit is for DVD or broadcast work.. Which of course It’s invaluable for. But if I’m completely honest, I can’t tell the difference in the look between 30p and 24p. I don’t mean to nay-say it, just question the benefits of native 24p.. especially since most of us won’t be outputting to celluloid for a while yet. 25p, however, i fully acknowledge is a god-send.

    3. Monarchs was a particularly beautiful music video, congrats.

  44. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    Ahhh mannn!!! I cannot describe how much this bums me out!!! Not you of course, just… just the fact that you revealed that a motorized camera slider for use in time lapses DOES INDEED EXIST!!!!

    Which is Awesome but… thats my senior project for my mechanical engineering degree!! I’m making a programmable motorized slider made Specifically for time lapses that not only slides but twists, to get that dynamic aspect that is missing from tripod time lapses. For example, a pan and dolly shot of a blooming flower. I thought it was the coolest idea ever!! I also thought it was fairly original too because i couldn’t really find any commercial products of the like. Oh well. Silly me.

    I look forward to reading your blog post about it.

  45. why would you need a motorized slider? maybe I’m stupid and I think I am… but why not move it in your editing software? It could be useful if the object is smaller than a landscape…

    I love the new 25p features and adore the way Philip (mr. Bloom) just posted his movie without telling anybody that is was native 24p! haha

  46. Brilliant film. I live a few miles away – I’m looking at those hills from my desk now – and I can say, Philip has captured the full beauty of this place. BTW, the film was shot just as the hills were at their peak of green, and have started their slow fade to brown.

    Thanks for creating – and posting – this visual treat.

  47. I’ve got the new firmware. Great stuff, loving Canon for it… I’m curious though, has anyone noticed the jump in bitrate from 38 to 44mbps making any kind of visible difference? Less artifacts? less noise? I haven’t seen much of a difference at all.

  48. “Recently we have discovered a malfunction that occurs with Firmware Version 2.0.3, in which the manual recording levels for C1/C2/C3 are changed and the camera becomes unable to record audio if the power is turned off (or if Auto power off takes effect) after registering “Sound Recording: Manual” in the camera user settings.
    We apologize very sincerely for the inconvenience, but we are going to stop making this firmware available for download. For customers who have already updated to the new firmware, when using the camera with the mode dial set to C1/C2/C3, please either set the sound recording settings to Auto.
    We are currently preparing firmware that will correct this malfunction. As soon as those preparations have been completed, we will let you know on this Web site. In the meantime, we apologize for the inconvenience this represents, but please wait until the fixed firmware is ready.”

    http://web.canon.jp/imaging/eosd/firm-e/eos5dmk2/firmware.html

  49. Philip,

    I noticed some of these shots look like they are in slow motion. I know the 5D can’t shoot any higher than 30P, so did you do this in post? If so, what did you do?

    Thanks!

    Peter

  50. Another piece of news. The FCP plugin has been released. Perhaps to cheer up folks who have been so busy loading firmware they don’t have any new stuff to log.

  51. Philip,

    I love your work. Just discovered your blog and I am launching into shooting vidz with my DSLR. One question, when you shot the music video on the street at night did you use a video light or is that all ambient? If you were using a portable light which model was it?

  52. Hi Philip, I can’t find your answer about what tripods and head you had with the Kessler Crane Motorized Cineslider and the compact pocket dolly with crank atb teh SKYWALKER RANCH? THANK YOU ;0)

  53. Hi Philip,could you what tripods and head you had with the Kessler Crane Motorized Cineslider and the compact pocket dolly with crank at the SKYWALKER RANCH? THANK YOU

    1. the large ( heavier ) tripod with Kessler Crane Motorized Cineslider a need to buy a affordable heavy duty and good head ..That’s why I’m asking you again my apologies for posting this again…You’ve mentioned it before then it despaired …

  54. I do not own a 5D or 7D but have been following their developments closely, and have used them for short narrative projects. I was really excited for the 5D firmware update but I may be going crazy because even with the 24p firmware I still find the 7d to give a more filmlike image.

    If you look at the “Miles Away” music video vs. “A Day at the Races” (different lenses) or “Dublin’s People”, the latter looks less videoy.

    I am wondering if it because of how the 5d handles shallow depth of field? Look at 1:11 in the music video vs. 1:39 in Races or 1:53 in Dublin’s People. The DOF on the music video seems milky/fake for lack of a better term, vs. the more strong/natural DOF in Races and Dublin’s People.

    Any thoughts?

    Thanks

  55. Great stuff Philip.

    Wanted to ask you about your preferred ISO settings, Shane Hurlbut wrote on his blog that he only uses ISO 160,320,640 or 1250, finding them the cleanest and least noisiest. also what color space are you using, sRGB or Abobe RGB?

    thanks,
    ilia

  56. I’ve been playing around with 24p using the 2.0.3 firmware. I’ve done two short tests and both produced really bad moire. To put that in perspective, I never once noticed it using the old 30p and I don’t think I’m shooting anything different (subject-wise). Any thoughts as to whether it’s worse because of the 24p?

  57. Philip, this looks great, this is one of my personal favs. This really shows off the 5D soooo well. Beautiful. Also, there are some good deep focus shots there – it should put to rest any arguments about not getting deep focus on the 5D.

  58. Great work as always!

    I was curious, haven’t found it yet on your blogs; have you been able to do some tests with the iscorama anamorphic lenses? I’ve seen a bunch of interesting posts and some good videos shot with the lens adapters, what is your opinion on them?

    Cheers,
    Jeremy

  59. Just how much running did you have to do to get those steer shots? I can imagine you trotting the hills after bovine, trying to get them to cooperate, screaming, “work with me here!” 🙂

    All well done and inspirational as usual. My T2i is going to be here in the a.m. and I now have some thoughts of things I want to try – save buying all the lenses and support gear.

    Thanks for being so generous with your experiences and sharing you work.

  60. Ugh i was there for SXSW walking around with my 7D and HMC150 all over 6th street and streets over as well while you were there!!! I would have loved to have met you! I am upset i didnt now :/ Seriously would have peed myself if i did haha

  61. Hello Mr. Bloom

    I was wondering about one thing. In the 7D vs 5D post, you mentioned that the 5D is full-frame only when you shoot stills; that it is smaller when you’re shooting video, only slightly larger than the 7D, infact. Does this imply a crop factor for the 5D when one is shooting video?

    You see, I’m not particularly moved by the difference in megapixels. The fact that there is no crop factor in the 5D is what makes it attractive as opposed to the 7D. Otherwise, the 7D had everything: a lot of framerates, lesser rolling shutter issues, it was even cheaper.

    I just want to know if the 5D is a better choice even after the 24p firmware. I can afford both. And I want to do some commercial work. (TV commercials and corporate films, basically).

    Thanks,
    Umar.

  62. Phil,

    I’ve read several about several ppl having issues with the new firmware 2.0.4 where their video ends up being jerky and they want to re-install the old firmware? Has the firmware update been perfect for you? I’ll trust your opinion on it over anyone else…and then finally install it on my own 5D2

  63. That’s good, but not good atthe same time…………..
    I was so sure to get a D7, now…. what will be the choice ?!

    hard. very hard.

    I’ll need recommendations… What’s the difference about depth of field between 5d mkii and 7d ? I can not find any tests online. If anyone knows anything about that ?

    I’m in love wth depth of field, and I’m in love with high FPS. right now, 7d can do one but 5d can do the other.

    Depending on the post here (about the update), here is the BIG question I have: Do you think there will be another update that will add some 50p modes to mark 2 ?

    What should I pick ?

  64. Phil
    Remarkable as is everything you do. Wonder if you have a view about the fact that with the new firmware on the MKII you can’t set the shutter speed to 1/25 when in full manual mode? Keep up the great work. You are an inspiration.
    Rob

    1. Duh! I don’t know what I was thinking. Wanted to use 1/50th which the MKII will clearly do. Was confusing 24p with shutter speed setting. Ignore and keep up the great work.

  65. Hello, i am a student filmmaker at UC Santa Cruz. I’ve decided to make an investment in the 5d mkII but like many others am torn between the 7D for the price difference. As a filmmaker, which camera would you recommend to a low budget student filmmaker? The 5D’s shallow DOF, film look and low light capabilities are very important to me, but with the 7D i can save a thousand bucks and buy another lens. I know you prefer to not say and I suspect you lean more with the 7D based on reading other comments, I plan on shooting lots of night time lapses and shooting with available light, but I’m not very techy and will probably be recording sound with a hot shoe stereo mic and maybe a handheld field recorder. Can you recommend some cheap decent lenses for the 5D? A good wide angle, shallow DOF, and zoom lens that I can find off ebay? I will be using this camera for shooting video primarily. Ps. my friend met you in Marin County, I was telling him about the leica m9 and he said you’re in love with it :]

    -Franklin

  66. Hey,

    I have read all your posts and watched all of your videos.. you simply ROCK!!!

    I have a question for you.. I am a filmmaker, I make short films and documentaries for T.V. and for public screening via projectors.. I use sony Z7E which delivers HDV quality…. after watching your work and other research on the HD dlsr debates all over the world.. i’m confused

    first, whether to switch to a HD dslr ?
    second, canon 5D 2 or 7D ?

    after the firmware update for 5D2…what do you still prefer the most?? or advice to a new switcher from a video camera to dlsr???

    Try giving a straight answer 😛 no pluses and minuses for both as these have troubled me a lot 🙂

    Ravneet
    New Delhi (Mentioning for weather conditions :P)

  67. With regards to the Monarchs video, do you practice what you preach in your 7D tutorial and shoot the image as flat as possible then color correct? The looks at 0:41 and 3:33 are especially impressive, perhaps even my favorites of all 5D/7D footage I’ve seen…

    If you shoot flat as possible and get that, I am 100% sold.

  68. Hi
    I need help in manual ISO setting subject. I’m running firmware 2.0.4. and i can’t manually adjust the ISO value in “M” mode, or in any other mode for that matter. When i set ISO to 1000 and start to record it automatically goes back to a high ISO value and so the picture is over exposed big time. I would be grateful if anyone could help me, cause the situation is rather bad :/

    my mail: ardofilm@o2.pl

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