One day someone’s hacking the firmware to give manual audio control… the next Canon itself is announcing full manual exposure control in an official firmware update due out on June 2nd.
Coincidence? Well, who knows… but if they could just combine manual exposure control with manual audio control, and add in a 24P shooting mode, they’ll have some pretty happy video-shooting customers.
For more info check out Canon 5D Tips, who are writing a series of posts about what all this means, and already have an interesting post up about the effects of different shutter speeds when shooting video.
The ever-enterprising crowd over at the Cinema5D forums have managed to overcome the most sought-after complaint by those who use the Canon 5D MarkII camera for shooting video – the lack of any manual control over audio levels.
In particular, the user “Hudson” has developed an alternative firmware named 5D Mark Free which not only disables the automatic audio gain control (AGC) leaving it set to the default +36 dB, but now also adds onscreen audio meters (see video above).
Bear in mind this firmware remains heavily in “alpha” territory… it’s a proof-of-concept so far, not a working version for everyone to flash today, in fact it’s not available for download yet.
But what is very significant indeed is that it proves once and for all that it is actually possible. There is not an unknown hardware limitation, it’s merely a question of developing the right firmware.
Canon? The ball would appear to be in your court….
Photographer Doug Plummer’s blog posts a news release from XLR audio adapter company BeachTek announcing their new model specifically designed for the Canon 5D Mark II. Back in January of this year photographer Edmond Terakopian posted a preview of the device.
This isn’t just a simple XLR adapter like the rest of the company’s product line, but includes one special feature to overcome a specific problem that photographers and videographers using the camera have been complaining about since the camera was launched – namely that it applies audio Auto-Gain Control (AGC) all the time, with no way for the user to switch it off and exercise manual audio gain control.
The new device is said to get around the problem by “sending a high frequency inaudible tone to the left channel of the camera” – in effect tricking the AGC circuit into thinking volume is at a high, fixed level all the time and so applying a fixed level of gain, which in turn allows the user to control overrall gain via a dial on the device (if my reading of the technology is correct). The device also allows the photographer to monitor the audio in real-time with headphones, another feature missing from the camera itself.
According to the press release posted the device will be shipping at the end of May for $379. Of course it would all be a lot simpler if Canon just allowed the user to switch AGC off completely, which presumably could be done via a firmware update… although there’s no clear sign of that coming.
For lots of discussion on the subject of the camera’s audio and other features as regards shooting video, take a look at these sites:
If you have an Apple iPhone or iPod Touch and a Canon EOS 5DmkII… you might be interested in Handi 5Dmk2 – a new quick reference guide application for those devices that contains the custom functions, menu settings, and other options of the camera, for easily checking in the field.
Once installed it can be used without a network connection. They also offer a Canon EOS 50D version. Both are priced at $1.99 from the iTunes App Store.
In the latest Digital Journalist Tech Tips, Canon USA’s Technical Advisor Chuck Westfall explains something that I’ve been wondering about for a while – just what do the Auto Lighting Optimizer and Highlight Tone Priority modes in the newer Canon cameras (such as the 5D Mark II)… actually do?
Update: There are some interesting tests concerning noise when using Highlight Tone Priority in this Cinema5D forum thread
Copying photos from digital camera cards never really seems to get faster. The card speeds increase, but seemingly at the same rate as the size of the image files. I recently came across an interesting product that may suit some people though.
Personally I don’t like these sort of expresscard readers that stick out from the laptop – I feel they’re too likely to get broken when out-and-about.
My current favourite reader is the Delkin Cardbus UDMA CF adapter (seen on the right) which you can leave permanently in the laptop slot and still fits flush with a card inserted. It’s very fast, and the convenience of never having to remove it, worrying about it snagging on something, or risk forgetting it.. makes it a winner. The only problem is the hot-swapping on Windows can occasionally be a bit buggy, but not too bad.
Canon have posted firmware update 1.07 for the EOS 5D Mark II, which it claims fixes the widely discussed “black dot” problem. Rob Galbraith has more on the subject here and in an earlier post here
Wired reports that Leica is rumoured to be bringing out a new super-fast lens at Photokina – the Noctilux 50mm ƒ0.95 – priced at a cool €8000 ($11,300).
I think the last time a lens that fast was commercially available was the Canon 50mm f0.95 rangefinder lens from the 1960s.
Not one for the average shooter I suspect… and your eyesight better be bloody good as the depth-of-field is going to be paper-thin with the lens full-open.
The RED rumors continue… this time it’s that RED is working on a sensor called Mysterium “Monstro” (Who makes these names up?) that will go into their planned EPIC camera, but more interestingly for photographers would find its way into “another camera aimed squarely at the DSLR market“.
Now that’s not to say it will actually resemble a DSLR – but it’s a clear sign that RED see the potential of the stills needs of photo-video-journalists.
The rumors and plans of RED always seem to be a long way ahead of their actual available products, but nevertheless this is additional evidence of the coming fusion of video and stills cameras.
Just in case the recent announcement of Nikon’s D90 DSLR with high-definition 720p movie mode wasn’t enough for you.
Wade Laube, a London-based contract photographer for The Sydney Morning Herald, has written an article on the paper’s website about how the process of filing pictures has developed through the years.
Longtime professionals won’t find much to surprise them there, but it’s a useful introduction for newcomers to the industry. ZTerm, happy days…
