My 5D Mark II has arrived !!!

OK OK… So I held off as long as I could. The first time I saw the photos of the all rigged out 5DmkII I thought WOW!!! Then I told myself I was just judging a book by it’s cover. It looks very cool — but it’s not ready for video yet.

So I waited, patiently, with my EX1 and EX3 by my side. My trusty LETUS 35 Extreme always ready… Then it started happened. People I knew started asking for or using the 5D and 7D on their projects. TV shows started using them. Canon released the firmware updated for the 5D — now it was a whole different ballgame. Workable frame rates, better control over the sound (even if it’s just a scratch track in most cases) and Zeiss has adopted the EOS platform as a real entity. All hail the CP.2 lens set…where’s that winning lottery ticket….

I’m now into my third week of owning a 5DMKII. It took a week to figure out how to get it into video mode. My first subject – my big toe… Got almost a minute and a half out of that. Next it was on to real uses. I re-configured my RedRock rod system and V2 follow focus from the EX3 to work with the Canon 24 -70 2.8 L lens that I bought. Worked out the mount for my 7″ Marshall monitor and tracked down the elusive spare Canon LP-E6 batteries. I was able to make my CA Vision matte box just fit the tall form factor of the 5D with the battery grip on it.

I’m off to the races — or in this case an art showing for a friend to shoot a couple of interviews for the event. They turn out really pretty good considering the room was packed and I used only the light from a hanging PAR 64 blasting the art on the walls. I put the interviewees about 4 feet in front on the art and me about 3 feet in front of them. Not your ideal ratio – but it’s what the room could handle. The DoF was not bad when I looked at the footage later. Important safety tip Egone… Just because you can go WFO with these lenses on the 5D and get everything really shallow – doesn’t mean you should. The first interview went great because the interviewee stood still — at ƒ2.8. The second person repeatedly leaned in to make her points. I didn’t think it was that far… but she fell in and out of focus slightly through out the interview. To do it over, I would set my focal plane more forward or shoot an ƒ4.0. Still a good first outing.

I’ll keep you all posted. Should be a fun learning curve. Have a great weekend.

TDTrey.com

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