Dublin’s People: Shot on a Canon 7d in native 24p

Been a hell of a weekend. F-Stop Academy has been in Dublin for our first official workshop. Been a great success. This little piece was filmed at the end of the hands on shooting part of the Cinematography workshop in Dublin when we were in wind down mode (and after a number of Appletinis!)

Jean-Jacques in "Dublin's People"
Jean-Jacques in "Dublin's People"

I took the Canon 7d, Zacuto Tactical rig, Z-Finder V2 and one lone lens, a Canon 35mm f1.4, which becomes more like a 50mm lens on the 7d. So a bit like what I did with Sofia’s People (but I didn’t have the Zacuto rig for that).

I shot 1/50th of a second as I was shooting 24p and to match the 50hz frequency of the artificial all around me in Temple Bar so there was no horrible banding and flickering. Most of the time my ISO was between 400 and 800. Some shots I even had at 200 and a few are at 1600, especially the end sequence. It was just so bright there!

I also shot some stuff 720p 50p with shutter at 1/100th to get the slow motion shots of the juggler which were conformed to 23.98p in Cinema tools to create the beautiful slow motion.

Sound on the last bit was just the internal mono cam mic as I didn’t want a big mic on top of the camera.

Big thanks To Darragh and Emma for organizing the workshop. To all the people attended and especially the people who came to the intensive 1 day Cinematography practical workshop on Sunday. Jala (from Germany), Cathal Hegarty (from N. Ireland) and Jean-Jacques (from France) stayed on another night and joined me for the night shooting. We had a great time. You may also spot my partner in crime Den Lennie a couple of times here.

Music is appropriately by the great THIN LIZZY and is of course Whisky In The Jar.

No grading was done.

Cathal shooting Jala on the 7d
Cathal shooting Jala on the 7d

P1000081

Um...she was English...what do you expect?!
Um...she was English...what do you expect?!
Den, Emma and me
Den, Emma and me

So…you may ask what do I think of the camera. I am going to be blunt here…I love it.

Now I am talking purely in video mode, not stills mode (although it does shoot more stills per minute than the 5dmII) it really is wonderful. I was a little wary about the 1.6x crop on the APS-C as I have such wonderful L series glass and yes it’s a pain that my 50mm f1.2 is now effectively an 80mm…but that’s the downside of APS-C. Wide lense are even worse. Canon don’t make any fast APS-C optimized lenses for the wide end…yet.

Operation wise it was very nice to use. Being a Nikon guy until May I am happy as I can change button assigning around so the top dial can now be iris. Great!

The dedicated video button is an improvement. In fact the whole design on the layout is much improved. The LCD screen seems to be less reflective in bright light and you can still zoom in to get focus but only before rolling. A nice touch is if the lens is in auto focus mode you can press the focus button on the 7d before rolling and it will lock on focus for you but not whilst rolling. You do still really need either a decent monitor or the Z-Finder V2 to get focus though and the Tactical Shooter made this my most steady handheld stuff with a DSLR yet. Also it did seem there was not as much rolling shutter issues as with the 5dmkII. I need to do some proper tests thought to see if this is true. It’s probably as I was nice and relaxed after a couple of drinks combined with the Zacuto rig! 🙂

Image wise, it’s very similar to the 5dmkII. Sure it isn’t as sexy image wise, but it is pretty close. It is a tad less sensitive than the 5dmkII but only just. This is as expected due to the smaller sensor. Also I would say it is a little bit noisier image wise than the 5dmk2. But not too much.

For me the thing i love most about the camera is the different frame rates. I can shoot full HD 24p, 25p and of course 30p BUT really excitingly I can shoot 720p 50p and 60p which although when played back at normal speed locks horrible and video like to me it means you can easily tell your editing system to play it back at 24p or 25p or 30p and get a lovely in camera slow motion. I have missed slow motion since using the 5dmk2 so much. My EX1 and EX3 do incredible overcrank. This isn’t strictly overcrank but the effect is very similar. Beautiful slow motion as you can see in this piece and my shaving film.

Do I recommend this over a 5dmkII? That I cannot answer. I own two 5dmkIIs and this 7d is a loaner. I am praying Canon bring out firmware to match the 7d’s video capabilities as I would hate to go back to just having 30p again and having to convert everything AND no slow motion. Please Canon. New firmware pretty please! Although I do already have one of these on pre-order at Calumet UK…if only I could get Canon to let me borrow this pre-production model a little bit longer…like another couple of years? 🙂

I will be doing more sporadic reviews as time goes on. In between my paid jobs, after all I am doing this just for fun. I will be taking the camera to WEVA in Florida this weekend.

Minor colour balance grading was done. That’s all to take out the yellow of the sodium lights.

Smoking may look cool on camera kids but it’s bad for you! The reason so many smokers in this? All the smokers are outside, all the non smokers are inside due to smoking ban. I hope you notice the one in my mouth was not lit! 🙂

So take a look at this fun little sequel to Sofia’s People!

You can download a clip in the original 1920×1080 23.98p H264 version by clicking here and click on download original

Click the image below to see the film…

Jean-Jacques in "Dublin's People"
Jean-Jacques in "Dublin's People"

IMG_2073IMG_2058IMG_2061IMG_2063IMG_2070IMG_2071

Want to learn how to create the film look and much much more? Click below.

logowhite

102 comments

  1. Thanks so much for cranking this out so fast- excellent follow up to Sofia’s People! The look of the 7D, at least to my eye, is so much more organic and film-like than what I saw on the 5D. So stoked to see what’s coming next from this bad boi! Cheers mate-

  2. Hi Philip!!!

    Thanks a bunch for this weekend in Dublin and to bad i coudn’t stay for the night shooting. I can tell you all had a great night and the 7d shots looks great. I will put something up on vimeo soon from sunday. Have a good U.S trip.

  3. I think I am now as keen for Canon to give us the 50/60p modes for the 5D as I am for 24/25p. Having that overcrank option seems to open up so many new possibilities.

    The life is bursting out of the screen at you in this film. Maybe if they served Appletinis in Sofia…

  4. i’m actually glad they’ve built this wonderful camera around an APS-C sensor as i’ve already built up my lens collection for it! the sigma 30mm f/1.4 makes really nice video on that size sensor and i like the view much better than a 35mm lens. check out my little video i made a while ago with the sigma and a 500D. it’s all hand-held with no “rig” so please excuse the jello. can’t wait to get a 7D to shoot at 24fps! whoohoo! thanks for making these videos philip, it really helps us citizens of the web to get a good idea of what these cameras are capable of. anyway, here’s my little vid.

    http://vimeo.com/4974343

  5. The 10-22mm isn’t L glass, but it’s still pretty nice. I love my 16-35 on my Mark II, but I may have to pick up a 10-22 again when I get my 7D.

    I really don’t think Canon will release any major firmware upgrades for the Mark II, but here’s to hoping 🙂

          1. Right U R! Amazing how with the EF-S class of lenses, an F2.8 is actually considered a “fast” lens. WoW! Some of these lenses ramp way down into the Dark Ages. What the hell, Canon and the rest? Why is the EF-S format still a stepchild to EF?

  6. You have broken the record for the number of mentions of Zacuto in one post.

    These days bloggers would normally add a disclaimer that they are being paid by the company (even if indirectly) or given free kit.

    1. I think I may have mentioned the 7d more in this post 🙂 The Zacuto rig and Zacuto Z-Finder honestly were bloody essential on this shoot. COULD NOT HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT THEM… If I like something as much as like both the 7d and the Zacuto rig then I will shout to the rooftops about it. I think I mentioned Zacuto more when I did a review of the Zacuto Z-FInder…But I think I need to get a commission from Zacuto for mentioning Zacuto so often. How about it Zacuto?!? 🙂

      But joking aside. I ONLY rave about stuff I genuinely love, and I love their gear for the 5d and 7d. Hence my mentioning the Z word a lot.

      1. Don’t mind him. I just did a search and Zacuto was only mentioned 4 times or so and this was a post in which it was kinda relevant. We know you prefer Zacuto stuff and I have no objections as long as you stay unbiased. Honestly, if you were getting some kind of commission I wouldn’t mind as long as it didn’t prevent you from recommending good gear from other companies. I love how you reviewed all of the other viewfinder things and appreciate all you do.

  7. Phil,
    We had an absolutely phenomenal time over the weekend. It was a pleasure to work together with you and Den and we’re just so proud to have hosted the first official F-Stop Academy workshop in our home town of Dublin. Can’t wait to get cracking on the next one!!
    Darragh & Emma

  8. ” Do I recommend this over a 5dmkII? That I cannot answer. I own two 5dmkIIs and this 7d is a loaner. I am praying Canon bring out firmware to match the 7d’s video capabilities as I would hate to go back to just having 30p again and having to convert everything AND no slow motion. Please Canon. New firmware pretty please! ”

    We are all in with you.

    AT LEAST Canon should fix the 30fps to the standard NTSC 29.97 and some other functions (AGC is SO EASY to fix…). That would save SO MUCH TIME when cutting, editing, mixing, and avoid the need of converting and synchronizing video files.

    Converting and synchronizing ONE single file from 30fps to 29.97 can be easy.

    BUT all of us who use the 5D Mark II for serious or professional purposes need to handle LOT of video files captured with the 5D and other devices, so converting, mixing, editing, synchronizing them all is a pain, VERY TIME CONSUMING, and especially awfull if we could have 29.97 JUST AS the 7D…

    — WE ARE CALLING CANON, as a Community effort AROUND THE WORLD, and politely requesting the update. It’s easy, don’t take more than few minutes! All customers calling CAN help to encourage Canon to update and fix the 5D Mark II.

    Take a look, some responses given by Canon representatives might (gladly) surprise yuo!:

    http://5dmark2.wordpress.com/2009/09/04/i-called-canon/

    5D Mark II and 7D can run together.
    It’s a better business for Canon too, since both cameras have different sensor sizes, lenses compatibility, and prices!! (in both, camera and lenses).

    So more profit for Canon if they update and keep on selling 5D Mark II (wich is already designed, already in production, already a best seller) as they have been doing for over 8 months.

    Thanks a lot in advance.

    1. What many folks seem to forget, however, is the fact that these two cameras came out ONE FULL YEAR APART!!!

      According to the Canon engineer I talked with recently, this is how he put it:

      a. The EOS 5D MkII is a “first generation video DSLR.

      b. Whereas the new 7D is a “SECOND GENERATION” camera in the same league.

      Actually, that makes sense to me. Go with the new, trade-in the old. Otherwise, we still could be asking Sony to “upgrade” their U-matic camcorders.

      And I would not have purchsed the 5D2 strictly for video use, especially in the shape and capabilities it was initially released with.

  9. Paul it’s still there! On the actual video page, not the blog page!! Didn’t delete. Valid opinion. I needed something energetic and to be honest I LOVE THAT TRACK SO MUCH this was my chance to use it!

  10. Philip, Since your films: Sofia’s People and Shaving It Back look great online, I can tell for most of my projects that I’d be happy with the camera’s codec, & would transcode the footage to ProRes for editing. My concern really lies with how the 5D/7D’s codec would perform for compositing green screen footage. IF.. the 5D or 7D offered a full frame uncompressed live HDMI output, then I could simply connect to an MXO2, AJA, Nanoflash or similar to capture uncompressed 4:2:2 from the camera directly to ProRes and problem solved. Being tethered from camera to capture device would be fine since I have shoot in the green screen area anyway. Do you have any comments on the 5D/7D codec or any comparison to the EX1/EX3’s codec. Thanks, PN

    1. Say Pete, how are you coming on green screen with Canon DSLR? Watching that myself. The challenge for me is the camera only does up to 12 minutes in HD, not long enough for the interviews I want to do. Looking at MXO2 for budget.

      Any luck in the last 5 months?

  11. Hey there,
    Just asking a quickie question to anyone that can give me some qualified response. Ive been drooling over the Panasonic DMC-GH1 since its release, but not this one is on the horizon, and both seem quite similar specs-wise…what would you reccommend, as youve had pretty extensive hands on with both? They are both priced similarly, and im guessing this cam has the edge over the Panasonic, as its the little sister of the 5D (as long as the firmware is up to spec…) anyway, what do you think? Any advice/suggestions/informed opinion would be greatly appreciated…thanks in advance!

    1. hi stephen

      the 7d has a superior image, superior low light and higher codec but needs more things like zfinder to make it work well. GH1 is much cheaper and is good but the 1080p mode is ruined by terribly low codec

      1. yeah, as usual it seems to be a matter of price, and of course, waiting until the camera gets to canada, the GH1 is sold out all over Canada right now, but the codec issue seems to be a stumbling block…although is that hard-coded into the system/sensor, or can it potentially be firmware upgraded in future?
        Not sure when the 7D will be released here either, but its certainly looking promising…well, thanks for your help:)

  12. Hey Phil,

    You have no idea how excited I was to see these past few updates about the 7d. Everything is looking phenomenal.

    You seem to be evading the recommendation question very well, so lets get more specific so as not to step on any toes.

    If commissioned for a paid job (maybe a commercial or a short), would you use the 7d? We know the 5d is professional grade, so does the 7d at least live up to that standard?

  13. Just a quick question Phil (and another plug for the good Zacuto people cause I love their gear too) – The question is this – I just got the Zacuto ‘Rapid Fire’ and Z-Finder V2 last week, but you use the Zacuto ‘Tactical’. I have to admit I love the Rapid Fire – works a treat. But I’m curious do you really notice any difference having that extra handle? If you had to buy one or the other, would that extra handle be worth the extra $500? I didn’t think so when I ordered the rapid fire – I thought it would probably get in the way and be too bulky more than anything else. What are your thoughts after having used both (presumably)?

    1. hi Rudy. Yes it is useful to have the extra handle to hold shots for a longer length of time, but for everyday use and most things what you have is perfect and is what i recommend people buy, i often take the handle off and shoot with both hands on the cam

      1. Cool thanks. Oh and the Miller 20D tripod arrived today. mmmmm… yummy. Maybe a little overkill for the lightweight 5D but wow doesn’t it go up high! 🙂

  14. one problem you forgot:
    50mm is the most usable focal length. and 50mm f1.4 is 350$ but the canon 35 f1.4 is rare lens!! bit less then 2000$! and without this lens you jest dont have something good enough for 50mm.

      1. Hey Philip,

        Can you give us less experienced folks a written tutorial on the “crop” issue as referenced in the original post?

        Philip wrote: “I was a little wary about the 1.6x crop on the APS-C as I have such wonderful L series glass and yes it’s a pain that my 50mm f1.2 is now effectively an 80mm…but that’s the downside of APS-C”

  15. Thanks so much for this.
    Still can’t decide between 7d and 5D

    Could it be, that the high light areas are more “burned out” on their edges than on the 5D?

    At 1:37 for example, the street light in the background have these purple borders, or 1:50 the tinsel party hat. (Sorry I don’t know the fancy term for this)

    1. Purple borders are generally Chromatic Aberration. I’m not sure of the cause of this, I thought it was when the 3 chips in a 3-chip camera were mis-aligned. But isn’t this a one chip camera?

      Someone that knows for sure help please?

  16. Hi Phil,
    A great film, the moment with the bride to be and the ‘I’m drunk tag’ lady really stood out for me. Something entirely comfortable and genuine came through but with a sadness to it. Really good info about the forthcoming 7d much appreciated. I was ready to order myself a 5d but don’t know what to do now. Can I ask about pricing – I’m uk based and after some basic research it seems I can pre-order the 7d from America at the the same price in dollars as it is in pounds over here about £/$1699. Should I order from America? Can you recommend some good stockists?
    Thanks, Al

    1. hi alex

      dont order from the US. warranties are not honoured in the UK. Use the Flash Centre in UK. great company. that rrp is wrong. Canon tell me it will be much cheaper. drop me an email and will forward you my contact details for my guy at the flash centre.

    2. Worldwide list prices for the Canon EOS 7D body are as follows:

      USA: US$ 1,699.00

      Europe: EUR 1,699

      UK: GBP 1,499.00

      In other words, depending where you live in Europe, you will be paying anywhere from 43 to 50 percent more for an 7D than we do in the good ole’ USA?

      Could be why so many Europeans have decided to live in North America? 😉

      I would say even if you have to send the camera to the States for any sort service it might need, you’d be better of buying one here. At the moment, you can order the camera at its full list price of $1,699, although some outlets are already demanding a slight surcharge.

  17. Philip,
    I have the 5D and was thinking of buying the Sony Ex1 for HD video. When the 5D MKII came out I decided to buy this instead, now the 7D is out and sounds that it is a better camera in some respects, and is much cheaper. I have 3 lenses for the 5d. a 100mm 2.8 Macro, a 100mm-400mm zoom, and the 24-105mm zoom. I was wondering how well these lenses would work with the 7d, or would you think I would be better of sticking with the 5D MkII?

  18. Oh, geez, ANOTHER dslr that shoots 720p! And for $650 with a DA L 18-55mm lens! Philip, please give us your thoughts on this new Pentax K-x camera. It’s got a huge sensor…23.6 x 15.8mm. But in the end it’s about the right mix of features, eh? Of course, I would love for you to actually get your hands on it and review it proper.

    http://gizmodo.com/5361242/pentax-k+x-dslr-shoots-12mp-photos-720p-video-for-650-and-its-blood-red

    http://www.ephotozine.com/article/Pentax-Kx-hands-on-preview-12172

  19. Hi Phil,
    Shooting HD is one thing, getting it out of the camera and into your NLE of choice is another matter entirely.
    A colleague was surprised at how slow it was to transfer HD video out of the camera.

    What has been your experience?

    btw – Great work! Dublin’s People is fantastic.

    Cheers,
    J

  20. Hi Phil, I wondered if you had tested the audio capabilities of the Canon 7D from the camera in ‘interview situations’ (i.e. with the beachtek attachment, and not recording independently).

    The images look great but I am wondering if the audio quality merits using it in interview situations with a wired lav mic (in conjunction with a beachtek)?

    I hope so. It would then make a great ‘documentarians/biography’ camera).

    And while I’m here, thanks for all that you share.

    Nic.

  21. Hi Philip, I really love the films here that you shot with 7D and 5D Mark 2. For me they are more impressing than the work of Laforet. Being still not able to afford a 7D I wish I could shoot like you one day.

    Some people say that your lens (Canon 35 mm F/1.4) is one of the important reasons for this success. While I was trying to choose the lenses I will buy with 7D, I was planing to buy a canon 10-22 mm, a canon 28-135 mm and a canon 50 mm F/1.4. Would you say that I should have a 35 mm on a crop camera to get the natural look of 50 mm, both for stills and movies? Currently I cannot afford a Canon 35 mm F/1.4, but should I think about Sigma 30mm F/1.4, or should I rather stick with canon glass, even if it’s 50 mm?

  22. Hi Phil,

    Great movie!!
    Quick question. At what ISO did you shoot this film? I tried my 7D in low light situations at 1600 and 3200 and I am getting much more noise than yours

    Thanks,
    G

  23. Hey Phillip, thanks for all your help with this site.

    So, I’m shooting a short in sort of the Friday Night Lights style (they shoot Arri 16’s), with a lot of quick little zooms. So far I’m loving my 7D, sold my HVX to get it. The one problem I can’t seem to fix though is this zoom light correction problem.

    I have a 18-135 f/3.5-5.6 IS, and I know it isn’t a fixed aperture lens, but I figured as long as I shot at 5.6 or above I wouldn’t have to worry about the light compensating, and yet it is. I’m in Manual mode (of course) and shooting lets say at an f/7 at 28mm and zooming into 50mm and as I do so the light darkens and then lightens with each zoom in or out. I expected this if I was shooting at a 3.5 and zooming in, but not above the 5.6.

    I’m positive I have all the settings in manual, this isn’t a problem I foresaw. Am I doing something wrong? Any thoughts/ comments. Would purchasing/ renting a fixed aperture zoom lens solve my dilemma?

    1. mmmm…it shouldn’t happen above f5.6 but that really is not a good lens. I have one and do not like it. Get a constant aperture f2.8 zoom if you can…how much is it lightening and darkening?

      1. Ah, I was hoping you might have heard someone else mention this. OK well, I’m going to borrow or rent a different lens and see if it’s my lens or the camera.

        Well everytime I zoom in or out it’s darkening about a stop maybe 2, and then jumping back to normal. It’s not darkening and then staying dark it’s just fluctuating a lot. I can actually hear the iris closing then opening with every zoom, and we’ve been through the camera thoroughly it’s definitely all in manual settings.

        I’ll let you know what happens with the different lens, thanks for responding.

  24. Question:
    For a short narrative film, with 25% action sequences (including glide cam – no sg blade on it for balance reasons), being shot in a third world country, Black and White, mostly natural lighting, which would you recommend a 7d or an ex3 with SG Blade and Zeiss primes? Image resolution is important as it might be transferred to film later.
    Thanks,
    Bert

  25. Hey,

    this might seem like an amateur but if the 7d (Video) files are transferred to 35mm film, would the focus sometimes appear softer? Also, is there a way around it.

Leave a Reply