A million
dollar question. You can visit many websites, read reviews and spend
a good deal of time but here on this page, I am going to tell you in
a few minutes what you need to know about taking professional-looking HD videos.
Video with Compact Cameras and
SLR cameras with Kit lenses:
By now most of us know
most compact cameras, or smartphones like iPhones, are not good
at video recording. This is because their sensors are tiny and so
are the lenses. If the light is good, they do an okay job. When light
is dull, they are almost unusable. The same is true for most consumer
SLR cameras with kit lenses. So what do we do to take high quality
High-Definition videos? Do we need to be stuck with HD Camcorders?
Do they also take nice videos?
Here is what I have
found: Most compact cameras don't do a good job in low light- for
still images or for videos.
HD Camcorders:
Another option is an HD
Camcorder. Most HD Camcorders will do a better job than compact
cameras or smartphones most of the time but the video will not be
professional looking. The video will be HD but not HQ (high quality).
HD Camcorders keep everything in focus most of the time (if not all
the time) unless you have one that costs $4000 upwards. With most
consumer camcorders, you really can't keep certain things in focus
and other things blurred. Unless you have noticed, most HD camcorder
videos are plain and boring. If you are fine with this, they can be
a good choice for you. You can find some good ones around $200-%500
range.
Now if you have noticed
in some professional videos or movies, they often have background
blurring. I mean selective focusing where only the subject is in focus
to grab all of your attention. There is no other distraction in the
frame. With SLR, this is possible because of the large sensors and bigger
(I mean wide aperture) lenses. As said earlier, most SLRs don't
offer good autofocus so many professional photographers have gone
with manual focusing. Many serious Canon users use Canon full frame
camera line Mark with some wide aperture and fast lenses. Many of them
specifically use Manual lenses with manual focus and one favorite
is Super Takumar 50mm F1.4 lens.
Movie mode/Video shooting with SLRs:
Most DSLRs will do a
little better as the light level goes down but many of them will not
auto-focus during videos (because of the mirror which needs to be
flipped for focusing). You can bypass this with a mirrorless camera
that can auto-focus, like Panasonic G or GF series. Shortly though,
it will be more common for SLRs to auto-focus. Looks like Canon
T5i will offer continuous autofocus in movie mode with subject tracking.
Auto Focus vs Manual Focus:
One of the best option
for an SLR with Auto Focus during video shooting/Movie mode: Currently
in Canon T4i, you have a choice of three autofocus modes you can
select before recording - Face Detection (with subject tracking),
FlexiZone-Single (user-defined AF point) or FlexiZone-Multi (automated
AF point selection). Regardless of which AF setting you've chosen,
when 'AF w/shutter button during filming' is set to 'On' you can
force the camera to reacquire focus with a half-press of the shutter
button. Of course, you can also choose to focus manually. All of
the touchscreen benefits we enjoyed in shooting stills carry over
to video mode as well. The Quick Control menu offers a fast way
to adjust settings and you can set the AF point simply by tapping
the screen. The camera's articulated LCD screen aids greatly in
shooting video from very low or high angles or simply manoeuvering
the screen in a more shaded position for glare-free viewing.
For T4i, here is what a reputed Camera Review website
DPReview has to say for Auto-focus in T4i: While the results
of these changes show noticeable improvement over the EOS 600D,
AF in video mode is, unfortunately, still slow. In our time spent
using the camera, we've not been able to reliably maintain focus
on objects moving to or away from the camera at even a moderate
walking pace. As it stands it's hard to envision situations in which
continuous AF that is this slow has any practical benefits for tracking
moving subjects. As with the EOS 600D, we still recommend shooting
video in manual focus, or at the very least pre-focusing the lens
with a half-shutter button press before you start recording.
Why Manual Focus is a better
option:
Actually for videos, Manual
focus is better than Autofocus in our opinion. (i) Motor of most
auto-focus lenses creates some hissing sound during focusing which
can create bad audio in your recording. (ii) The Autofocus issue can
be worse when trying to focus in low light. (iii) Though some cameras
offer Auto Focus, it is still remarkably slow and inaccurate for most
DSLs. (iv) Autofocus as the name mentions auto-focuses so if you want
to have only person A in focus out of a group of 5 people, you really
can't do it on the fly. If want to focus only specific area while shooting
a video, you can't do it unless you manually focus on it. (v) Also,
most auto-focus lenses don't let you change the aperture on the fly to
control depth of field. Old lenses like Super Takumar, let you control
focus, and aperture very smoothly.
Don't Forget the Audio Part:
Don't overlook the Audio
part if you are in pursuit of great videos. Videos are not complete
without audio. Most consumer SLRs have the body Mic to capture
audio. While it works, it is not enough. For best quality, it is
important to have an external mic jack so you can input better video
directly from the source or from closer to the source. Also, see
if a camera records in mono or stereo. Choose a camera that offers
Hi Quality audio and the ability to record in 16-bit instead of 12
bit or 8 bit.
I am not an expert but
here is one video I recorded in low indoor light with Panasonic
GF3 and a Super Takumar 50mm F1.4 screw mount M42 lens. I am still
learning manual focus so please bear with me for focus misses. However
I am sure this group of 6-year-old kids running/traveling with the
ball will not fail to entertain you.
If you are short on budget
but want to take nice videos, you can buy a Pentax K-01 body for
around $300. Buy a Super Takumar M42 lens for around $100 with an
adapter for Pentax. Once you get hold of the manual focusing, you
will be amazed at how beautiful videos you can take with a DSLR compared
to compact cameras or most consumer SLRs with a kit lens. Even with
those HD camcorders.
Super
Takumars are around 40 years old M42 screw-mount lenses. I used it
often on Pentax and Panasonic mirrorless cameras. Here is one video
I recorded with Pentax K-01 with a Super Takumar 135mm F2.5 M42 lens:
http://vimeo.com/56176951
http://vimeo.com/10917206
http://vimeo.com/10633255
Some
of my photos are also taken with this lens on Olympus or Pentax body
Photography tips:
Megapixel Misunderstanding
Video Recoding with SLR
How to take great photos
