Canon 550d for shooting movies... any good?

HappyTuesday

I've seen some amazing work done with the 550d on Youtube. Unfortunately when I ask the film makers about the 550d they have nothing but praise for it... as they own it.

So can any independent folks here tell me the cons of using a DSLR to shoot films? I'm 86% sure I'll buy it in the coming weeks. I read somewhere that the DSLRs aren't the best if you want to move the camera around while shooting, the picture suffers. Is that true?

Nodferatu

nice name

HappyTuesday

Jaysus this forum is on fire with the activity.

Banjaxed82

This film was shot on the 550D. There's a fair bit of movement and it doesn't look too shabby. Your best bet is to get a D.O.P. onboard who knows the camera inside out and also make sure you have tri-pods, shoulder-mounted rigs, steadicam (if you can afford), etc. Hand holding a dslr camera will just make for puke inducing Saving Private Ryanesque results, unless that's what you want.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66MWzGlv3fQ

johnnystork

I own a 550D and I'm very happy with it. You cannot beat it for price, but there is a new 600D which is the newer version that has a articulated screen. One major thing the 550D has going for it apart from price is "Magic Lantern" firmware. Google it, its an unoffical upgrade to the camera that adds many features other DSLRs don't have.

In general though DSLRs do produce great image quality but you have to know how to work the camera (Aperture,iso,shutter speed) as its not specifically designed for video the way a camcorder is. What have you used before to make videos?

Also audio recording on all DSLRs is crap, something to consider before you buy.

Cheers

HappyTuesday

Here's another good one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Q42t95cCIk

andyterryjay

I shoot everything with my Canon 550D. IN my experience its an excellent camera and you can do anything with it.

I have shot short films, music videos, concerts etc. with it. you can make an awarding winning film with this camera. Haha, the trailer for the film at the bottom, is one i hope to win a few youth film festivals. haha

Check out my youtube channels. As i said everything (pretty much) i do with a 550D.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th--EGtC0BU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lh07AtGc2Yw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-8kvr7Cxok

andyterryjay

as for the cons.

1) Only 10 minutes of video at a time.
2) You NEED an external mic if you want good sound.

To be honest, i have used this camera for a diverse range of video shoots including music videos, live band coverage, and my own short films. And i can't think of any other bad things...

For the price you cant go wrong (in my opinon),

Banjaxed82

Agreed. There's not many cons when it comes to the camera, but if you're shooting a music video or short film, chances are 10 minutes is more than enough time, unless you're shooting VERY LONG takes.

Also, when it comes to sound, any film worth making should always require sound to be recorded separately.

Nice clips by the way.

Galvasean

Banjaxed82 wrote: »

Also, when it comes to sound, any film worth making should always require sound to be recorded separately.

You have no idea how nice it is to read this. Nothing frustrates me more than, "ah shure we don't need a sound recordist, doesn't the camera have a microphone built in?".

andyterryjay

Haha yeah exactly. Although it is hard to capture good audio when you dont have much money and you are a one man show. but i do have an external sennheiser mic and a zoom h2. which are awesome !

Thanks by the way !

Banjaxed82

Galvasean wrote: »

You have no idea how nice it is to read this. Nothing frustrates me more than, "ah shure we don't need a sound recordist, doesn't the camera have a microphone built in?".

Not unless your sound man sits on Tom's couch all day matching his facial hair with the colour of the walls. Would you do that?

Galvasean

Banjaxed82 wrote: »

Not unless your sound man sits on Tom's couch all day matching his facial hair with the colour of the walls. Would you do that?

Maybe not ALL day

Karamoja

andyterryjay wrote: »

as for the cons.

1) Only 10 minutes of video at a time.

Why only 10 minutes at a time? It's no problem, except maybe for interviews, but why the limitation? Is there no way around it with magic lantern or any other sort of hacks?

andyterryjay wrote: »

To be honest, i have used this camera for a diverse range of video shoots including music videos, live band coverage, and my own short films. And i can't think of any other bad things...

Can I have a look at your music videos?

andyterryjay

Karamoja wrote: »

Why only 10 minutes at a time? It's no problem, except maybe for interviews, but why the limitation? Is there no way around it with magic lantern or any other sort of hacks?

I really don't know why. It may be because the files are so large.
And i haven't gotten magic lantern yet so i ament sure. i am afraid of doing it wrong and breaking my camera haha.

Can I have a look at your music videos?

Here is an old one. It wasnt purpose shot for a video so its not great. i have a new one with the same band coming out in a few days if you follow me on youtube or facebook you can see that when its out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFMXjbxfCkg

Then this is something i did at the Obama visit.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LYGDMXyXMsThis will give you a better idea of quality. Just scenery shots i did of Dublin city.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th--EGtC0BU

And then here is a short film i made ages ago with it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZ2Mb4VALcU

Check out my channel and my other channel. The only camera i use is the 550D. On my second channel i just do covers

here - http://www.youtube.com/user/JordanMusicVideos

Jeeves01

Hey,

Im toying between the 550d and 600d at the moment. Trying to figure out if the flip lcd is worth the extra.

My question is though, recording sound. Do you just have an external on top or use an xlr box? I was just watching this http://www.vimeo.com/videoschool/lesson/16/recording-sound-for-dslrs

I think most of what I will be doing is short doc and experimenting but Id really like the good sound quality especially to record small interviews. Also worried about carrying a lot o gear when on my own.
Getting off topic here but any other advise on equipment. Ill def be getting a view finder.

roguey

I just got a Canon 600D, upgraded from a Canon HV20 and I must say, i'm blown away by this camera. I absolutely love it! I put up a little test video, let me know what you think.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Sifq44x9Bw

DrFroggies

roguey wrote: »

I just got a Canon 600D, upgraded from a Canon HV20 and I must say, i'm blown away by this camera. I absolutely love it! I put up a little test video, let me know what you think.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Sifq44x9Bw

Yeah those Canon DSLR's are incredible but are you retiring the HV20? It's a great little camcorder from some of the films i've seen made using it.

roguey

DrFroggies wrote: »

Yeah those Canon DSLR's are incredible but are you retiring the HV20? It's a great little camcorder from some of the films i've seen made using it.

No its not retired yet, sold it to a friend so it'll still be put to good use! Its a great camera indeed, but I needed a new toy!:P

DrFroggies

roguey wrote: »

No its not retired yet, sold it to a friend so it'll still be put to good use! Its a great camera indeed, but I needed a new toy!:P

Fair enough:D Be interested to hear a comparison between the two once you've got a chance to play around with the 600d a little more - planning on getting a 550d soon but have been tempted to go for the HV20 or even if i can sell body parts etc go for both and see if a combination of DSLR and Camcorder could make up for the deficits in each.

roguey

roguey wrote: »

I just got a Canon 600D, upgraded from a Canon HV20 and I must say, i'm blown away by this camera. I absolutely love it! I put up a little test video, let me know what you think.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Sifq44x9Bw

what lens are you using on that? how do you do the focus blurring background / foreground?

roguey

glasso wrote: »

what lens are you using on that? how do you do the focus blurring background / foreground?

I used a Canon 50mm 1.8 lens. Its a great little lens and cheap too, only €120 i think. The depth of field is all to do with the lens.

Peebro

www.youtube.com/topclassproductions
Check out my short films and subscribe. We recently got a 550d, which our latest was filmed with. a great camera, decent value. Would highly recommend.

Zombie Lenin

I've got a 550D, a Zoom H2, a Sennheiser ME66 and a slate. It's all you need.

I've used a 7D and a 5D mark II and I still prefer the 550D for my purposes, which sound the same as the original poster. The 7D and 5D have way more options like shutter speed to stop that choppiness with movement, but I personally don't think it's worth the price. For me, "way more options" turns into "overly complicated" when the pressure's on and you need to set up a shot quickly.

I also strongly recommend getting a "nifty fifty", the Canon 50mm lens mentioned by roguey for amazing crispness and pretty depth of field. If you go into a small camera shop you might be able to get them to throw one in with a bundle.

I also recommend getting a spare battery and nothing less than two 16g class 10 memory cards. My off brand ones work fine, so there's no need to spend a load of money, but they are essential.

For synching sound you should be able to get a decent clapperboard for around €30, but if you've got an ipad, i recommend the "DSLR slate" app you can get for about 10 dollars, cuts out trying to figure out where you left the whiteboard marker every two mins.

Moon54

I recently bought the Canon 600D, which is pretty much exactly the same as
the 550D except for the flip-out screen, and I love it.

I agree with Zombie, the Canon 50mm lens, nifty-fifty , is awesome and
great fun to use. For only €93 delivered from Amazon, it's worth buying the new one;
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-EF-50-1-8-Lens/dp/B00005K47X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1312718527&sr=8-1

I'd also recommend getting a couple of extra batteries and charger, here's what I got from ebay for only €20,
great value and they work great;
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120729889520&ssPageName=ADME:L:OU:GB:1123

Also agree about the SD cards, MemoryC.com is fantastic, I'd recommend the Transcend Class 10 16GB for €22;
http://www.memoryc.com/flashmemorycards/sdsecuredigital/16gbtranscendultimatesdhccl10securedigitalmemorycard.html
or the 32GB one for €44;
http://www.memoryc.com/flashmemorycards/sdsecuredigital/32gbtranscendultimatesdhccl10securedigitalmemorycard.html

Also a good carry bag is essential imo, the Altus Lowepro 160, about €29 on eBay, which is great.
That's a lot cheaper than on Amazon but you may (or may not) get a duty charge,
but it probably won't be much;
http://cgi.ebay.ie/Lowepro-Altus-160-Black-Digital-Camera-Case-Pouch-Bag-/110696228347?pt=UK_Camera_Cases_Bags_Covers&hash=item19c60265fb
Otherwise, it's about €51 on Amazon,

Thanks for that iPad Clapperboard suggestion, that sounds pretty cool.

Jeeves01

I also got the 600d. My first camera so nothing to compare it to but I love it. I would agree with everything above except for the Transcend Class 10 16GB. I bought one and had problems. It couldn't read a lot of the raw images and it had problems with most of the videos if not all.
In my opion i reckon your better off with the better brands when it comes to memory. Ive tired to keep it cheap where possible but nothing worse then getting home only to find you have lost that perfect shot/video you thought you had.

The flip screen is very handy and I think worth the extra money esp when your in tight angles.I was unsure it was worth it but ive come into several situations that it was handy for.
I also got the Rode Video Mic and once ive saved up the Zoom H2. Will post once ive test them out.
Nifty Fifty is a great starter lens as well.

Runtech

Jeeves01 wrote: »

I also got the 600d. My first camera so nothing to compare it to but I love it. I would agree with everything above except for the Transcend Class 10 16GB. I bought one and had problems. It couldn't read a lot of the raw images and it had problems with most of the videos if not all.
In my opion i reckon your better off with the better brands when it comes to memory. /QUOTE]


I follow Intergal see below. Good stuff. I prefer the endurance version. Speed is key to myself on performance for HD recording and high res images.

http://www.memoryc.com/flashmemorycards/sdsecuredigital.html#Brands=Integral&Type=SDHC&page=0

blue5

I shot this on the 550D

http://vimeo.com/22242004

You definitely need a fast memory card or it will 'stutter'. I've got a SanDisk Extreme 30MB/s, 16GB.

v.e.r.b.a.l

I shot this on the 550D. Was featured on the Huffington Post!! Can't recommend the camera enough. Great entry-level camera and works amazingly for it's price!

A nifty-fifty F1.8 lens is lovely on it (but beware that it translates as an 80mm lens on a crop-sensor camera like the 550). I'm hoping to get the Tokina 11-16mm wide-angle to compliment it.

Jeeves01

Hi Alan,

I seen that on broadsheet a while back. I was well impressed, fair play man.

I would def agree with you. I also have the Tokina 11-16 and it is a fantastic lens. Working on a timelapse vid at the mo so will post back in a few month with the results.

This is the Tokina lens. Its only a tester and in the wrong resolution but i love it.
http://vimeo.com/34810534

Incase you havnt used them the profiles are brilliant as well. I thought that it was only the parameters on the camera(like the contrast levels) but this actually gives you more dynamic range
http://philipbloom.net/2011/09/18/pictureprofiles/

Jeeves01

This is the Tonkia lens. Its only a tester and in the wrong resolution but i love it.
Incase you havnt used them the profiles are brilliant as well. I thought that it was only the parameters on the camera(like the contrast levels) but this actually gives you more dynamic range
http://philipbloom.net/2011/09/18/pictureprofiles/