3 Days to learn my dslr- what matters most for video

[powdork]

just bought this to film the kirkwood comp next week (it's supposed to arrive tomorrow but storm of century)
canon t2i with 18-55 kit lens
sigma 50-200 f/4-5.6 DC OS HSM
transcend 16Gb class 10 sdhc

i've never had a dslr so i'll be jumping in jong. what's most important to learn right away for video? nothing artsy, just straight up shooting. i do have a good tripod.
i used a 10x zoom camcorder in the past. does the 200mm focal length equate to the 10x?

[crackboy]

Check out my friends website. Not for video and he shoots mainly kayak photos, but its action sports and a lot of the same things can be applied to skiing


http://www.kayakphoto.com/darinmcquoid/tutorials.html

[advres]

If you want to slow any motion you need to shoot 720p60. Have your shutter speed double your frame rate or higher (ie, shooting 24p = shutter @ 50+). That sigma has an effective range roughly of 80-320mm on a crop sensor camera. 320 is damn long, you should be good as most ski guys are rocking the 70-200. Have no clue what that equates to compared some generic 10x.

Just sold my t2i and have shot a lot with it. Any specif questions don't hesitate to PM me.

[moose pit]

try not to shake.

Good luck.

[powdork]

turns out i suck, so far. out of 167 shots these 4 came out best. i didn't really get a chance to do any research and had it on some weird settings with real slow shutter from my indoor tests last night. didn't see the sports/action setting that would have done everything for me. it's a shame because there were some real good opportunities. i will get better. the good news is that i can still get at it and shooting in a reasonable amount of time so as not to slow everything down. off to read.

[advres]

IF YOU WERE DOING VIDEO:
You shouldn't adjust your shutter when doing video. Like I said before it should be set to double your frame rate always (unless you got some artsy thing going on). You needed your ISO to be at 100 and you needed to close your aperture way down to get your desired exposure. In bright sun with snow, ND filters would help a lot to keep the aperture wide but you don't really need the DOF in your setting. Plus you're not going to spend the money on ND filters until you get a lens worth a damn because they won't fit.

IF YOU WERE SHOOTING STILLS:
If you're just going to put it in "sports" mode you should have got a point and shoot. It's an automatic mode that completely defeats the purpose of having an slr.

[SchralphMacchio]

Yo court, I'm at Mt Baker this coming weekend but maybe up first weekend of March for touring and/or inbounds. Possibly coming up tomorrow (2/23) for a day trip.

Let's find a day, bring your cam and I'll bring mine. I'll show you a few tricks for stills ... can't help you with video. I shoot with a Canon xSi.

[grskier]

didn't see the sports/action setting that would have done everything for me. it's a shame because there were some real good opportunities. i will get better. the good news is that i can still get at it and shooting in a reasonable amount of time so as not to slow everything down. off to read.

It's the little dude that's running on the main dial....


For video I'm guessing you'd be shooting with your longer lens, and that tripod will be key. You can probably get pretty good results shooting full auto in the video if it's important you get decent useable footage.

good luck

[powdork]

IF YOU WERE DOING VIDEO:
You shouldn't adjust your shutter when doing video. Like I said before it should be set to double your frame rate always (unless you got some artsy thing going on). You needed your ISO to be at 100 and you needed to close your aperture way down to get your desired exposure. In bright sun with snow, ND filters would help a lot to keep the aperture wide but you don't really need the DOF in your setting. Plus you're not going to spend the money on ND filters until you get a lens worth a damn because they won't fit.

IF YOU WERE SHOOTING STILLS:
If you're just going to put it in "sports" mode you should have got a point and shoot. It's an automatic mode that completely defeats the purpose of having an slr.

no video yet. i only have a class 4 card, and the class 10 arrives later today.
respectfully, the sports mode may defeat your purpose for having a dslr, but not so much mine. i would have gotten 40 usable images yesterday instead of 3. my old panasonic tZ3 had all the creative options. that didn't make it a dslr.

[Lonnie]

You've read the manual, right? I'm not being sarcastic here, it REALLY helps. I still pick mine up from time to time and generally learn something new each time I do.

[powdork]

it's in spanish, so i'm not getting much out of it. i'm following some online tutorials.

[advres]

no video yet. i only have a class 4 card, and the class 10 arrives later today.
respectfully, the sports mode may defeat your purpose for having a dslr, but not so much mine. i would have gotten 40 usable images yesterday instead of 3. my old panasonic tZ3 had all the creative options. that didn't make it a dslr.

And respectfully the reason for an slr is more control over your pictures, not just the ability to change lenses. That is an automatic mode and in bright sunlight and snow the only way you are guaranteed to get proper exposure is to shoot in manual. Sure you may get some bangers in that mode but you lose control over many things and the camera can get easily confused trying to meter in those conditions.

Learn to use manual to take better pictures. The semi-automatic settings will help you to learn what your camera is doing in certain situations. Av (aperture priority) = you set ISO and aperture and the camera adjusts the shutter based on metering for proper exposure. Tv (shutter priority) = You set ISO and shutter speed and the camera adjusts the aperture based on metering for proper exposure. P (program) = you set ISO and the camera will pick aperture and shutter speed. It will generally default to your widest aperture and adjust your shutter speed based on metering for proper exposure. Use these modes in the same setting and see what your camera "thinks" should be proper settings based on other settings. Learn to use the camera and you'll be much happier in the long run. I know you're just starting and I understand but read, read, read and shoot, shoot, shoot. And stay off those automatic modes, they don't help you at all.

[birdboatboy]

it's in spanish, so i'm not getting much out of it. i'm following some online tutorials.

English Manual: http://gdlp01.c-wss.com/gds/9/030000...50d-im2-en.pdf

And you should print the quick start guide: http://gdlp01.c-wss.com/gds/6/030000...550d-qg-en.pdf

[Lonnie]

That is an automatic mode and in bright sunlight and snow the only way you are guaranteed to get proper exposure is to shoot in manual.

Not true. In the automatic modes, your final exposure, by combination of shutter speed and aperture, are set by the cameras internal light meter. You have the ability to override that meter with exposure compensation. When you shoot in full manual, you are setting app and SS, but you are still relying on the same meter to tell you when you have a good exposure. If you want to overexpose the scene by 1/2 a stop in manual mode you dial in a SS (or A) that you want and then select the app (or SS) that your light meter tells you is 1/2 stop over "normal". You can still do that in S mode or A mode by dialing in the setting you want (A or S) and adding 1/2 stop of exp comp. In the end it's the same result, in A or S you are simply controlling 1 variable plus the adjustment you want, and letting the camera set the 2nd.

I shoot mostly in Aperture mode and use exposure compensation frequently to get the look I want. I find it easier to only have to control one setting at a time, esp when conditions (the available ambient light) are changing quickly. Sometimes I'll wait for a hour or more to have a 5 min window with the light I want.

You also have the ability to change the way your light meter reads the scene using spot, partial or center weighted average. This also influences your exposure and final aperture/SS settings. When shooting in snow, spot metering of the snow and adding 1/2-1 1/2 stop of ec is usually yields good results. Use your histogram to make sure you aren't blowing highlights. You can fix a lot of things later, but this isn't one of them. Shooting the first test frame with a neutral grey card to get the WB right usually is a good call as well.

[kidwoo]

Man if you'd spent the money on a 7D, you'd have access to 'awesome video mode'

It's right by 'tight shirt see through boobies' mode on the dial.

[Eldo]

So you searched the internet for tutorials on using the camera, but didn't bother going to the Canon website to download the English instruction manual?

Best of luck with the camera.

[powdork]

i will get there, but for now, the sports mode will work fine. afterward, i can check the picture's meta data and learn from that. the ability to change lenses i don't consider a plus. at least not yet. at this point it's more a hassle. i like the faster fps, especially with large 18 mp pictures. i like the hd video.
sports mode today (note the guy skiing the chute above the guy in the bowl).


landscape mode today


these won't win any awards, but both these are way better than what i could do with my old point and shoot. all 131 of the pictures i took today would have been usable except for the subject matter.
the online tutorials i'm using are videos, which i find more useful than a manual, but would probably be even better in conjunction with the manual.
thanks for the help everyone.

[grskier]

read the book, or read one of the dummy's guides.... I actually have the one on the T2i and it's OK.... The video section could be a little better...

ETA: you've taken a couple hundred stills, you were worried about video.... a little confused

Have you tried to even just take some SD footage to get the hang of shooting with the camera?

[powdork]

card's here now. not sure if i'm gonna be filming the comp with the forecast we got. starts tomorrow with the qualifiers then big snow for rest of week. plus, i'm assuming the video will be easier.

[kidwoo]

i'm assuming the video will be easier.

Yeah you're fucked. Better hurry up to costco and get something that says 'vixia' on it.

[advres]

'm assuming the video will be easier.

LOL......

[powdork]

turns out the most important thing for shooting a ski comp is an articulating lcd screen. it's all moot without it. still, i got some good stills.

[grskier]

turns out the most important thing for shooting a ski comp is an articulating lcd screen. it's all moot without it. still, i got some good stills.

Seriously!?

I mean, the 60D is a nice camera and all, but people have been taking ill action shots at ski comps for decades.

[Eldo]

I think Powdork is referring to shooting video, since you have to use the LCD. And one that pivots to your view is probably an advantage.

[grskier]

An advantage for sure, but I'd guess that I'd mostly shoot with a tripod at a comp... I like using my loupe too.